Sarah Lysecki (ITBusiness.ca) is reporting that Canada is facing a dramatic shortage of computer science and computer engineering graduates. The Software Human Resource Council says the IT sector in Canada needs 35,000 new hires each year but only 7000 are coming out of the school system. And the need is expected to grow to nearly 90,000 per year over the next several years.
A telling quote:
Aside from curriculum woes, there’s still a perception among many young Canadians that technology is not a reliable field to enter in terms of employment opportunities.
“There is a psychological impact from that IT bubble bursting in 2001,” said Dr. Boctor. “We are far removed from that. There are very lucrative jobs in the IT and communications industry.”