According to the recent Scoring Tech Talent Report by CBRE, Toronto added 80,100 tech jobs; since 2013. It came third on the CBRE report that ranks the top 50 tech markets in both Canada and the United States. Some of the things considered when doing it include completed tech degrees, talent supply as well as job growth.
In that report, The San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle came first and second, respectively. It further stated that of all the markets that were ranked, Toronto’s pace was the fastest in the past five years. With a 54% increase, it managed to beat cities like Washington, D.C., Austin, TX, and New York City. Other Canadian cities that also improved, as revealed by the rankings, are Vancouver that came 12th, Montreal that was 13th and Ottawa that got the 19th spot.
Tech Needs and Canadian Immigration Programs
With the rapid growth of the tech market, there is a need to acquire more tech-talented individuals to join the labor market. Therefore, immigration programs in Canada are working towards meeting these IT needs. To achieve this goal, the Canadian Federal government and a few more provinces have turned to the immigration programs. Through the express entry system, the government is planning to acquire high skilled and talented individuals to fill the rather rapidly growing labor shortage of experts in the IT sector.
The Express Entry System
Canada’s Express Entry is the primary source of skilled foreign workers, including tech experts, in the state. The system considers IT professionals when giving out their Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence. For instance, in 2018, some of those who received most ITAs were information system analysts& consultants, computer programmers, software designers, and engineers as well as interactive media developers.
Even though, an individual’s occupation is not among the factors that determine whether or not they are eligible Express Entry candidates. Their age, skilled work experience, English or French proficiency, and education also come into play.
Coincidentally, IT professionals are among the top most common experts that were invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence in 2018.
