Canada on verge of IT student shortage

Post date: Jun 25, 2010 12:58:36 AM

Education Greater emphasis on information technology in high schools is key to reversing trend, expert says

What started as a trickle of tech jobs decades ago may turn into the job rush of the century as demand for information technology grows across the board.

But declining enrolments in computer science programs at colleges and universities - including the University of New Brunswick - coupled with increased workforce demand could spell disaster for Canada's economy, says an information and communications technology expert.

Paul Swinwood, president of the Ottawa-based Information and Communications Technology Council, a not-for-profit group dedicated to improving the sector, says a greater emphasis on IT education in high school is the key to reversing the downward trend.

"The shortage of new grads and the continued growth in the industry means there will be in trouble if action isn't taken," he said Thursday during an interview in Fredericton.

Swinwood was in town to promote an information and communications technology program for high schools in New Brunswick, set to be launched this September. It will provide some New Brunswick students in grades 11 and 12 in with greater hands-on and applied technical training.

The goal of the program is to forge greater links between the ICT industry and the Ministry of Education and encourage students to pursue an ICT-related program at a college or university.

"Information technology is more than Nortel," he said. "Dozens of companies like Bombardier and CN Rail have tripled their employment of IT related workers. We need to teach students about their options in the field of IT."

In the early 1990s about 150,000 people in Canada worked in the field of information and communication technology. Today nearly 650,000 have a career in the ICT sector, and demand is growing.

"Even with the worst economic scenario we will need 120,000 more people in the sector over the next seven years," he said. "And if the economy recovers the way we expect it to that will jump to 150,000 or more."

The number of incoming undergraduate students majoring in computer science in the United States fell by 70 per cent between 2000 and 2005, according to the Computing Research Association. Swinwood said enrollments have been plummeting across Canada as well.

The potential gap of skilled workers to fill ICT-related jobs could get worse if computer science programs at universities and colleges fail to recruit more students, he said.

There is a need for at least 18,000 new information technology professionals each year in Canada, but universities only produce 7,000 graduates.

Brett Bundale

Telegraph-Journal

http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/journal/article/655580