Last year, Statistics Canada economists say there was potential for 60,000 career jobs in IT in the country, but only about 4,500 new graduates with the skills to fill those positions. In addition, a report published by the Canadian eBusiness Initiative found that 200,000 Canadian small and medium sized businesses could not find the skilled employees needed to meet their business demands.
In response to Canada’s need for more graduates with world-class information age skills, the Software Human Resource Council (SHRC) recently launched the DiscoverIT.org Web site, designed to attract young people into the world of IT. Students can explore their own skills while learning first-hand what careers in IT are all about. At DiscoverIT, students can check out real careers, and they can see where the jobs are now and where they are going.
DiscoverIT.org also has valuable information for educators and parents who are trying to help young people along their career path. The site also features Uni-Search-Ity, a section where students can find out more about enhancing their IT education. At Uni-Search-ITy, they can discover a broad range of IT programs available at colleges and universities across Canada.
“The SHRC has observed a major shift in IT employment and the skill sets desired by the employers, and our ongoing Web content development is designed to show that getting the right skill sets, having the right information and being knowledgeable about the needs of the employers will lead to challenging and rewarding employment,” noted Paul D. Swinwood, President SHRC (Canada) Inc.