The demand for IT professionals in Canada is on
the rise and shows no sign of slowing down. According to statistics compiled
by CNC Global, Canada’s leading provider of IT staffing services, numbers for
Canadian companies hiring IT staff reached an all-time high during the first
quarter of 2007. These latest numbers reflect a 10% increase over the last
quarter and even surpassed the demand experienced during the build up to Y2K,
suggesting that the economy is stable and more companies are turning to
technology to stay competitive in today’s global economy.
“The demand for IT professionals has been increasing steadily over the
past 36 months demonstrating a steady growth. This continues to put pressure
on the talent supply. It is also forcing companies to adopt new ways to
attract the talent that they need. We’re seeing this right across the
country,” said Terry Power, president, CNC Global.
CNC Global’s Quarterly Report: “IT Staffing Requirements in the Canadian
Market – Q2, 2007,” identifies key hiring trends among Canada’s blue chip
companies and Small-Medium Sized Enterprises. It includes an analysis of
hiring and demand patterns, hiring requirements, salary and rate fluctuations,
as well as IT positions and skills most in demand.
Highlights from CNC Global’s Q1 Report
:
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National:
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– The demand for full time roles continues to grow in all regions
across the country. It accounts for 50% of all demand in the GTA.
– Typically, this growth would come at the expense of contract
positions, but over the last quarter, the demand for contract roles
increased 26%, up 31% over the last 6 months. As a result, contract
opportunities remain twice as numerous as full time ones.
– What positions are most in demand? Requirements for Architects spiked
330% across the country, the largest increase for a single position
this quarter, but the most sought after role is still the Web
Developer. This role accounts for one in every five job orders.
– While application development roles make up nearly 60% of demand
across the country, the demand for infrastructure roles has increased
138%, led by requests for Security Analysts, Database Analysts and
Database Administrators. Nationally, this focus is the result of a
growing emphasis on security, as well as the recent release of
Microsoft’s new operating system, Vista.
– The top skills for Q1, 2007 were Project Management, Business
Analysis, Communication Skills and Bilingualism. This continues the
demand for business and communication skills and underlines the
changing role of IT within many organizations – from that of a
cost-center to strategic partner.
– Technical skills most in-demand were Java, Oracle, SQL, Unix, and
.NET, reflecting the ongoing priority of web-based skills.
– The hardest skills to locate in the market were Internet and
infrastructure related and included: Websphere, SAP, Tivoli, and
Citrix. At the same time, while .net skills are numerous, there
remains a shortage of IT professionals with senior capabilities in
this area.
Regional Markets:
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– The GTA continues to account for more than half of all requirements
across the country, but regional growth continues to be strong,
especially in the West.
– In Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg, CNC Global experienced
an average 14% increase in the demand for permanent hires, the
strongest first quarter growth in permanent hiring that the West has
seen in three years. In Calgary, full-time position requirements
surged 33%. In Edmonton they jumped 19% (after a 48% increase during
2006).
– The strongest growth in the West was in Calgary. Requirements jumped
almost 20% with a focus on Architects, Business Analysts and Help
Desk Support.
– Vancouver posted growth in virtually all technical roles, the most
sought after being Architects (up 31%), Project Managers (up 20%) and
Business Analysts (up 30%). All of these roles were on the
application development side and the demand for them reflected new or
expanded project cycles.
– Edmonton saw the highest demand for Project Managers in its history,
up over 300%, while the demand for testers and other application
development roles declined slightly.
– In Montreal, contract requirements increased 46%, with most of the
region’s growth coming in the area of web development, which was up
76%. At the same time, the demand for Architects, Business Analysts
and Project Managers remained strong, as budgets and project cycles
ramped up for 2007 in both the public and private sectors.
– Halifax showed the most growth in Infrastructure-related roles, up
244% over the fourth quarter of 2006. Contract requirements in
Halifax doubled in the last three months, and permanent requirements
jumped 29%.
