OTTAWA – Canadians employed in the country’s apps economy have grown to over 64,000, a 25% jump in the last 16 months alone, and could top 110,000 by 2019, say analysts at the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC).
The ICTC released its second report Monday on the red-hot Canadian mobile apps landscape. According to The Appification of Everything: Canada’s apps economy value chain, enterprises developing apps are generating $1.7 billion in revenue per year, and that amount could reach $5.2 billion by 2019.
The report, which used survey, secondary data and interviews, found that the majority of apps development is occurring in Ontario, where 28,700 are employed in developing apps (both technical and non-technical workers). Quebec is another hub of activity with its 14,000 apps jobs.
Currently, 40% of revenue derived by companies developing apps is generated within the same province, and another 17% from other Canadian provinces. Just 28% of revenue is currently being generated from the US, so the potential to grow the Canadian apps economy through export is significant, the report continued.
“Mobile apps are a fast-growing, vibrant sector of the economy,” said ICTC president and CEO Namir Anani, in the report’s press release. “We consider that talent is one of the most important considerations in ensuring Canada takes full advantage of this opportunities offered by mobile technologies and mobile apps. We continue to work towards ensuring a sufficient supply of this talent by encouraging youth, Aboriginals and women to pursue technology careers, and by providing opportunities for training and up-skilling to all Canadians in all sectors of our economy.”
