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CBRE’s new tech talent ranking is now showing that the top markets were not really affected by the pandemic. Toronto again has taken the number one spot, with Ottawa and Vancouver trailing behind. These markets tend to boast the strongest number of factors that all contribute to the success of the tech sector. There’s also a very high concentration of tech employment too. 11.3% of workers in Ottawa work in tech and this is double the average in Canada. It’s also the highest amongst any North American city. The biggest city is continuing to underpin the entire tech ecosystem. Toronto’s tech jobs are accounting for half of the growth nationwide over the past 5 years. There have been 66,900 jobs added and this is actually enough for workers to fill a 1 million square foot office, ten times.
Tech is a Fast-Growing Sector
Toronto is easily the fastest growing tech market, whether it’s through online casino providers, VR innovators or robotics start-ups. It would seem that tech employment is forever growing and the growth stands at just over 50% in some cities. Nationwide, the number of workers in tech has increased by 22.5% and when you look at the Canadian economy, you will soon see that 165,300 jobs have been created. This is a pace that is three times the amount of the national average. Tech talent accounts for just under 6% and the workers are currently fueling some very innovative changes in some of the more non-traditional tech sectors.
Mid-Tier Markets are Now Gaining Strength
The greatest movement in the tech sector actually happened amongst some of the mid-markets. Halifax has seen its overall growth stand at around 8 points and they have been able to move up 3 positions. This has helped them to clinch the number 8 spot. The biggest score would be Saskatoon. They have advanced by 7.4 points. A lot of this growth comes down to the Toronto-Waterloo innovation centre. Guelph and Oshawa have punched well above their weight and they have been able to add 1,900 and 4,600 jobs between 2014 and 2019. Guelph and Canada is the fastest growing tech market.
Tech is Driving Everything
Tech is driving everything and it’s fantastic to see that major markets are doing well. It’s encouraging to see tech talents pooling in some of the smaller cities. The more areas that are plugged into, the better the economy will be. Smaller cities are becoming home to dynamic firms and this is the case for start-ups as well established companies. These areas may well benefit young talent and it is also going to help the major market in the future. At the end of the day, more and more companies are now embracing remote work and this is really going to help bolster the industry for the future.
Tech Smart
The top 5 talent cities in Canada are now producing the highest amount of tech graduates. Computer science is becoming much more popular and on top of this, there were 1,000 technology-focused degrees in 2019 alone.
