Local businesses facing IT crunch

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT STE. MARIE INNOVATION CENTRE

****************************** Demand is high for skilled IT professionals

SAULT STE. MARIE - (September 18) - Like many other Northern Ontario communities, one of Sault Ste. Marie's most pressing problems recently has been recruiting and retaining doctors, but for many of the city's top employers another shortage is becoming more common - a tight market for skilled IT professionals.

Career Door CEO Terro Joosten claims that Canada is heading towards a "full employment rate for IT," while CNC Global's numbers are proof to those claims.

According to the latter's latest quarterly reports, the number of "Canadian companies hiring IT staff reached an all-time high, surpassing demand levels experience during the build up of Y2K."

According to a first quarter report for 2007 which was released by CNC Global Ltd., the demand for skilled IT professionals has reached an all-time high - even higher than before the dot-com collapse of 2000.

IT World Canada reports that "between 2007 and 2011, Canadian businesses will have to fill no less than 90,000 new IT positions, of these vacancies, around 60,000 will be newly created positions and an estimated 30,000 will result from retirement"[1].

Compounding the problem is smaller enrolment numbers in IT programs within colleges and universities.

"There aren't as many students getting into hi-tech careers since the bubble burst in 2000," says Joosten.

Student enrolment in IT related courses has also nose-dived with some experts attributing declining enrollment in IT courses to memories of what happened in the aftermath of the 2000 dot-com bust[2].

It is unclear as to whether students shying away from the field are aware of IT's current and expected demand, but local officials from Sault Ste. Marie say there are opportunities for both youth and experienced individuals.

"We've had some success filling more junior positions, however when you want to find someone with five to 10 years experience, then it's tough", said one local official from a public sector employer.

Locating candidates with hot skills, particularly in the realm of programming and web development has been a struggle.

The unprecedented number of IT companies looking to hire in Sault Ste. Marie provides opportunity for students, recent graduates, and IT professionals.

WorkGroup Designs (WGD), a management consulting and premium software solution firm is seeking three new software developers with Java/J2EE skills.

"We have found it challenging to locate qualified and reasonably experienced staff locally," says Mark Belsito, manager of Software Development and Support, WGD.

"There has been some local entry-level candidate interest, but our current need for more senior staff must be met before we can hire or fill entry level, or co-op positions," said Belsito.

With labour-force participation at a fifteen year high and advertised job vacancies tripling over the past five years, employers in many sectors are faced with a shortage of workers for perhaps the first time in memory[3].

Demand is high again for system administrators, operation managers and other IT professionals, while the on-going boom in mobile technology has necessitated the creation of new types of specialists capable of managing the flow of information over wireless networks[4].

A quick search shows a dozen local IT opportunities.

Many local graduates have already been able to secure entry-level positions in areas like application development.

For more senior positions, initiatives like ITSSM.com's "Sault Reconnect" program, implemented by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, can be used to keep professionals located outside SSM apprised of local IT employment openings and encourage them to move back to the community.

"The good news is that our IT sector is growing and demand is high for skilled IT professionals," says Tom Vair, executive director, SSMIC.

"We are working with our employers to assist in locating IT professionals with services like ITSSM.com and Sault Reconnect," said Vair.

"Knowing the strong network of Sault Ste. Marie families and ex-patriots out there, we would welcome people to spread the word that there is opportunity in Sault Ste. Marie in the IT sector and invite them to visit ITSSM.com for more information."

So if you're looking for a challenging and rewarding career, with many jobs available and not enough qualified or interested candidates to fill them, there will be ample opportunity for experienced and skilled IT professionals to find work in Sault Ste. Marie over the coming years.

[1] "Canadian IT industry needs image makeover, says analyst."

[2] "IT Staffing the in Canadian Market."

[3] "Skilled Trades and Other Shortages," by Robert J. Dumanski, retrieved January 10, 2007 from SooToday.com.

[4] "Job Prospects Charting New Territory," by Wallace Immen, retrieved January 14, 2007 from TheGlobeAndMail.com.

******************************