A number of experts are warning about a skills shortage affecting the IT industry in Canada. The shortage is likely to worsen in the coming years, and businesses need to prepare themselves for a potential lack of skilled IT professionals.
"When it comes to skilled labour, the IT sector has always faced a greater challenge than other professions," pointed out Terri Joosten, CEO of CareerDoor Inc, in an interview to Exchange magazine.
According to Joosten, new graduates in general are more “averse to doing hands on work” tasks. Additionally, Joosten notes that companies need to be less picky when it comes to recruitment. “Many insist on getting 100% of what they want from a potential hire – and then some more.”
Joosten also warned about the existence of “a lot of unutilised or underutilised IT immigrant talent in Canada”.
IT architects, business analysts and project managers are still in demand, and there does not seem to be a big enough pool of candidates with the right skills and experience to fill the available positions.
For Linda Duxbury, professor at the Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, the challenge isn't just that "boomers are getting older and retiring, it's the undersupply of youth". The fact that Canadian families are having fewer children is also contributing to worsening the problem.
