ACM TechNews

Industry Feels Pinch as Numbers of IT Grads Plummet

Globe and Mail (CAN) (01/21/08) Church, Elizabeth; Hartley, Matt

The number of computer science graduates in Canada continues to dwindle, causing employers to scramble to recruit new employees and bringing attention to a situation that could create a major skills shortage in Canada and across all of North America. "A lot of parents got burned through the dot-com era and weren't encouraging their kids to go into IT-related programs because of that fear of instability," says recruiter Terry Power. However, during the past three years demand for IT professionals in Canada has doubled as baby boomers start to retire and the economy continues to support tech spending in all sectors, Power says. Microsoft Canada President Phil Sorgen says there simply are not enough graduates to meet demand. About 35,000 new information and communication technology jobs are created annually in Canada, but universities produce only enough graduates to fill about one out of every five positions, Sorgen says. Jacob Slonim, the former dean of computer science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says there is no quick fix to the problem. He says the industry must take the lead in finding a solution, and that universities need to examine how they teach their courses to attract and retain students. Many universities are making changes, such as combining computer science courses with other popular majors such as business, science, or math. Jim Little, the chairman of graduate programs at the University of British Columbia, credits such combined programs for keeping interest in computer science strong on his campus, and he expects demand from employers will help pull new students into the programs.

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