ICT is where jobs are, but not yet people
It may be the ‘it’ industry, but attracting diverse, skilled workers remains a challenge
How’s this for a disconnect: Canada’s youth unemployment rate on the rise — 13.3 per cent compared to 12.6 late last year — yet there are many unfilled jobs, especially those related to ICT (information communications technology).
According to the first-ever national digital talent strategy released in 2016 by the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) not-for-profit think tank, it’s projected 182,000 skilled ICT workers will be needed in Canada by 2019, with another 36,000 by 2020. Titled, “Digital Talent: Road to 2020 and Beyond,” this report urges fast and meaningful action to position Canada for success.
While Canada’s digital economy is growing, there are challenges in ensuring these jobs will be filled. Thankfully, many of today’s postsecondary institutions are heeding the call with expanded courses tied to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).
The following is a look at some of the issues and some thoughts on what could be done to remedy them.
Challenge No. 1: Not enough qualified workers Experts says it’s best for students to focus heavily in STEM as early as possible — ICTC suggests making computer science education mandatory from kindergarten through Grade 12, for example — plus many Canadian colleges and universities are committed to strengthening students’ digital literacy and related skills.
Increasingly popular courses focus on software programming, engineering/robotics, network support, wireless telecommunications and video game design, to name a few disciplines.
“We need to ensure we’re offering content in the programs that the employers really want, and we achieve that in a few different ways,” says Nancy Sherman, acting dean of the School of Applied Technology at Humber College.
“We have program advisory committees, where we meet with industry representatives on an ongoing basis, have them look at our curriculum and tell us what we need to tweak and strengthen.”
Sherman says Humber’s technical programs are taught by industry professionals. “We take people from (the) industry and teach them how to teach, but they are industry practitioners, whether it’s our full-time or part-time faculty, and guest lecturers.”
Along with technical skills, employers are also looking for good communicators, problems solvers and critical thinkers, and so Humber is also trying to reinforce “essential skills,” previously referred to as “soft skills,” Sherman adds.
“Finally, we need to deliver learning that’s efficient and effective, with shops and labs that have up-to-date equipment, and increasing realworld projects and work placement opportunities,” she says. “You can only emulate a work environment so much in a shop or lab — nothing beats real-world experience.”
Challenge No. 2: Lack of diversity While it’s changing, slowly, it’s no secret the ICT workforce has largely been a “boys only” club.
The top 10 Canadian (ICT) companies have an average of only 16.5-percent female representation, according to the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC).
The challenge, ITAC says, is attracting young women to these high-paying tech jobs.
Engineering and computer science have remained largely male fields of study at universities in Canada. Even in high school, many young women believe ICT companies would not be places where they would want to work, ITAC says. What’s more, there are few women board members to serve as role models.
“If we get more women exposed to STEM related subjects at a young age, the more interested they would be,” says Barry Choi, personal finance expert for Money We Have.
“Ladies Learning Code, for example, is a non-for-profit organization that helps women and youth learn about technology hands on. They run workshops around the world including Canada, so that’s a practical way to get women exposed to the industry.”
While there are a few organizations that encourage women to embrace STEM, Choi says he’d also like to see more programs offered by municipal or provincial governments. “Cities already have outdoor camps and activities; it just makes sense that having coding courses would be the next natural thing to offer.”
Sherman agrees: “We need to be able to tell stories about meaningful STEM careers, and within people’s reach, at a very young age.”
“Already by Grade 8, you have to choose whether you have to drop math or not, or take a lower math, but we need to make math and science not just interesting to young women but tie it to an exciting career,” Sherman says. “We need to show them how these jobs can really make a meaningful contribution to society.”
“I read some interesting studies that claim if you tell girls an (ICT) career will help people or it’ll be extremely creative, then you tend to get more women into these roles . . . so I wonder if we need to change the name of our programs to be less dry,” Sherman ponders.
Sherman points out the lack of diversity in ICT isn’t just a gender issue. “It would be remiss not to mention there are other groups not properly represented, too, such as those with disabilities, immigrants, indigenous people, and others.”
Challenge No. 3: Brain drain While there are more graduates in computer science and other technical disciplines, some flee to the United States to work at the huge concentration of tech companies in Silicon Valley.
“This one is a bit tough since the U.S. has so many high-paying jobs in multiple cities,” Choi says, and “many of the top U.S. brands come to Canada to directly recruit our students.”
Though statistics quoted by media have pegged the number of Canadian ex-pats living and working in California at 350,000 — about 1 per cent of Canada’s population — this stat has been challenged. Dan Munro, a principal research associate in public policy at the Conference Board of Canada, suggests, based on U.S. community surveys, that there are no more than 25,000 Canadians living there. Even at 25,000, brain drain is a real problem when it comes to losing Canada’s top talent in the ICT sector.
To retain Canadians who study STEM subjects in university closer to home, the government could create more incentives or invest more into communities, Choi suggests. “It might sound far-fetched, but offering student loan forgiveness would definitely appeal to some new grads. Alternatively, if the government offered tax incentives for tech companies that offered well-paying jobs, they could potentially attract more Canadians.”
“It’s not like the government isn’t trying,” Choi adds.
“Back in 2012, the Perimeter Institute received a $1.73-million grant and another $12.5 million was invested into Let’s Talk Science, in the hopes of encouraging students from kindergarten to Grade 12 to study STEM subjects.
“Even tech giants are getting involved: Google has donated to Actua, a charitable organization that delivers educational STEM programs to youth in Canada, while Microsoft partners with non-profit organizations that offer free courses in coding.” While Sherman acknowledges many Canadians go abroad with the tech skills they’ve sharpened in Canada, “it goes both ways.”
“We are keeping, and bringing in, some very fine people in the country. Canada is one of the best places in the world to live and work. People will want to come and stay here.”