AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Immigration can save Canada from facing IT labour shortage in next 3-5 years

Friday, 25 January 2008

In the IT industry and considering immigration to Canada? Your timing couldn't be any better, as a report issued by a group of industry professionals estimates that over 90,000 jobs in the IT sector will become available before 2011.

Canada’s Technological industry is facing an imminent labour shortage which will increase the demand for foreign workers to fill crucial IT positions.

"The problem is much bigger than any of us at the Conference Board has identified," said Dr. Michael Bloom, Conference Board of Canada vice-president of organizational effectiveness.

The report further states that while Canada has 600,000 IT employees, some 31,000 are scheduled to retire, while an additional 58,000 will be required to fill gaps that will soon develop in that field.

Canadian Tire, Rogers Communications Inc, Nortel Networks Corp., and Bombardier are among the more than 30 companies that have formed a group geared towards loosening Canada’s immigration regulations to allow highly skilled and educated workers to enter Canada and to find work in the IT field.

The report urges government agencies to act now on immigration issues in order to fix what has become a topic of great concern.

For 2008, a whopping 122,000 Canadian Skilled Working Visas are available. This includes 70,000 Federal Skilled Working, 28,000 Quebec Skilled Working, 22,000 Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), 13,000 Federal Quebec Business, and 9,000 Live-in Caregiver Visas that are up for grabs.

According to Statistics Canada, tech employees earn 45% more than the average working Canadian. The average wage per hour is between $20 and $30, depending on the field of specialization.

If you are interested in living and working in Canada, you can see if you qualify by filling in the free visa eligibility assessment form, which will deliver results within minutes.