Working in IT & Data Services in Canada
Labour Market Outlook
According to the Information Technology Association Canada (ITAC), the Information Technology (IT) industry drives employment, inspires innovation & business efficiency, and touches the lives of Canadians daily.
There are over 37,400 companies in the Canadian IT sector. More than 90% of these fall within the software and computer services industries. Newcomers to Canada play a significant role in filling the job gaps in this industry, as 44% of skilled immigrants are in IT sector.
Employment
Employment in the IT sector is continually growing. In 2015, it increased to more than half a million jobs, growing at a rate of 4.2%, significantly much faster than that of the overall economy (+0.8%).
A new report published in April 2017 by the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) indicates that Canada will need to fill approximately 216,000 technology-related positions by 2021, up from 2015 predictions of 182,000 by 2019.
ICTC further reports that the overall digital labour force now amounts to around 1,389,000 professionals, and is reflective of the health of this economy and the expanding range of occupations in this space.
Education & Training Required
The IT field is characterized by a knowledge-intensive workforce, with over half of its workers holding a university degree, compared to 28.8% within all Canadian industries.
The software and computer services sub-sector employs 56.8% of university educated workers, the largest proportion within the IT sector.
Overall, a considerable proportion of immigrants employed in the IT industry have completed post-secondary studies in a related area such as information technology, or science technology engineering or mathematics (STEM) courses.
Wages and Job Outlook
Those who work in the industry earn on average over $73,800 a year. In 2015, these workers earned 49% more than the economy-wide average, with the highest earners coming from the software and computer services industries.
From 2007 to 2015, the average salary in the IT sector grew at 21%, a similar pace alongside the overall economic growth.
