ICT sector needs access to global talent pool

OTTAWA, CANADA: With an unemployment rate of two percent and an aging workforce, the information and communications technology (ICT) industry needs access to the global technology labour market in order to maintain its growth rate and competitiveness.

Access to the global talent the industry needs has been made more difficult due to changes in regulations made by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in 2013. In a white paper released today, ITAC, the Information Technology Association of Canada, and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) outlined the importance of global workers in the Canadian ICT labour and made recommendations to ESDC and Citizenship and Immigration Canada for reforms.

"Our industry is deeply committed to the creation of a robust Canadian ICT workforce and high value ICT jobs," said Karna Gupta, president and CEO of ITAC. "Our unemployment rate indicates we employ virtually every skilled ICT professional that we can find. Our industry faces chronic shortages of highly skilled people and, if we can't find them in Canada, we need to attract them from other parts of the world.

"We are encouraged by recent indications that the Government understands the unique situation that Canada's digital industries are facing and we hope the release of this white paper will provide some useful suggestions that will recognize the importance of global workers to our industry," he said.