The Province
March 2, 2007

Tech sector facing skills crunch: BCTIA's landmark study 'a call to action for the industry'

Jim Jamieson

B.C.'s bubbling technology sector is expected to create 9,000 new jobs this year, but an increasing shortage of skilled workers means some will go unfilled, an industry study released yesterday says.

The landmark study by the B.C. Technology Industry Association cautions that continuing growth in the sector is threatened if serious skill shortages are not addressed.

The current hiring environment is proving to be a headache for companies. But for Neena Rahemtulla, a new hire as field marketing manager at Vancouver-based ACL Services Ltd., a provider of business audit software, it has meant unprecedented choice.

Rahemtulla, a 15-year veteran of Vancouver's tech industry, hasn't seen anything like this level of demand for workers since the heady days of the late 1990s.

Rahemtulla left the industry for six months last year to pursue a baby clothing business with a friend, but kept her eye open for work.

"There were many opportunities," said Rahemtulla, who grew up in Calgary, where she studied English and psychology before coming west to Simon Fraser University to do a co-op program in communication.

"I've been through 20 interviews, offered a few jobs, but I was being very particular," she added. "The fact that ACL is downtown, that it's headquartered here, that the team is well resourced, those were all factors.

"Because there are so many jobs, I could turn opportunities down and not feel like I wasn't going to get another one."

ACL's manager of corporate marketing, Beth Hardy, said the 200-employee company currently has 24 open positions in Vancouver and offers bonuses to staffers who refer a successful applicant. "We are experiencing the crunch," said Hardy, whose company counts as clients Fortune 100 companies and 49 of the 50 U.S. state governments.

The BCTIA study of 146 small, medium and large companies says the technology industry, which employs approximately 65,000 workers, forecasts adding 15 per cent more employees in the upcoming year and shows no indication of slowing. At that growth rate, the number of jobs in the sector would double to more than 130,000 workers by 2010.

BCTIA president Rob Cruickshank said the labour challenges indicate the tech sector is both growing and maturing, with greater proportional demand for so-called customer-facing jobs in sales and marking. "This indicates we've been in a significant development cycle. But it is imperative that we address this growth-crippling talent shortage."

Cruickshank said the solution to the shortage lies in improved recruitment of out-of-province and out-of-country workers and a more flexible and focused system for training and attracting young British Columbians to the industry, right from the high school level.

He also called for an expansion of post-secondary co-op programs, which give students valuable work experience while gaining academic credit.

"A lot of people still think that to work in the technology industry you have to be a propeller head who's willing to work 80 hours a week in a dark room and get food under the door," he said. "That's not the case and the opportunities are far broader than that."

Cruickshank said the report, which he called "a call to action for the industry," also suggests the formation of a training association -- similar to what exists for construction trades -- but with programs that address a complete range of industry skill sets.

But attracting workers from other regions is difficult, as the tech worker shortage is a global problem, said Karen Carruthers, marketing director for high-tech recruiter Rostie and Associates.

"There is a talent war out there for the 'A' players -- people who've been in the industry and are recognized front-line players," she said.

Carruthers added that Vancouver gets lifestyle points from prospective hires, but its high real-estate costs are a formidable barrier.

"The local real-estate market is through the roof and the salaries are lagging three or four years behind the real-estate trend, especially the base salaries," she said. "Companies that hold low base salaries are going to have a tough time attracting people."