It's estimated Canada's tech sector will create nearly 18,000 new jobs in each of the next five years. The bad news is we won't have enough people to fill those jobs.
A new study says "Canada's ICT sector is facing a vast and alarming skills and labour shortage in the next five years."
The Information and Communications Technology Council of Ottawa has looked at this problem before and it is not going away.
"It's a pervasive mismatch between requirements and supply," said Paul Swinwood, who heads the agency.
The study notes a dramatic shift as employers demand techies understand things like marketing. The ICTC study urges schools to provide the right skills.
"Employers want a bundle of skills. Schools do need more cross-education programs, we're not too good at that; we still live in silos," said Michael Kelly, former dean of the Telfer School of Business at the University of Ottawa.
Fifteen years ago, Kevin Dee founded Ottawa tech staffing firm, Eagle Professional Resources. With 10 offices across Canada and $90 million in revenues he sees a national problem. By next spring, there will be significant problems.
"We are on the forefront of a skills shortage; we see it day in and day out," he said.
Jobs that are in demand include business analysis, computer system architects, project managers and broadcast technicians.
Dee says Ottawa is behind other cities when it comes to new jobs.
"It's tough. I don't see any large government projects and maybe public service cuts. New tech firms are all small and it takes a lot to make a new Nortel."
Recently, Waterloo firms did some headhunting in Ottawa. Waterloo has 2,000 jobs available; the number is unchanged in a year. The pressure is on to find people to work, and Ottawa is known for its talent pool.
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