Victoria is committing nearly $600,000 towards a partnership with key technology industry partners to study the labour market needs in the tech sector. Led by the BC Technology Association (BCTA) and the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC), this technology Sector Labour Market Partnership project, worth nearly $600,000 to date, will help the government and project partners gain a better understanding of the current and future labour needs in this diverse and fast growing sector. As part of this project, the partners are also developing a comprehensive labour market strategy which will result in recommendations on deepening the talent pool for in-demand jobs in B.C. Since last October, BCTA and VEC, with support from the government through the Sector Labour Market Partnership Program, have been engaging with technology employers, educational stakeholders and the broader technology community to gain a better understanding of the labour needs in this sector. To help the industry take this important project further, the Province has recently committed additional support so they can complete a detailed labour market analysis and develop a strategy with key actions to address the sector’s labour market priorities.  After the announcement, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond, and Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Amrik Virk, as well as project partners, met with programming students at the Lighthouse Labs Victoria campus, located in the Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council (VIATEC) offices within the Fort Tectoria building in Victoria. The project announced today is part of the government’s commitment to deepen B.C.’s technology talent pool through a variety of actions, including improving access to timely and relevant labour market information, as outlined in the #BCTECH Strategy. The 10-year strategy includes a $100- million BC Tech Fund to improve access to capital, as well as initiatives to increase talent development and market growth for tech companies to drive innovation and productivity throughout the province. In 2014, the B.C. government launched the Skills for Jobs Blueprint to re-engineer its education and training programs so British Columbians can get the skills they need to be first in line for jobs in the province. The Sector Labour Market Partnerships Program is funded through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement. The program helps employers understand and respond to changing labour market demands, and ensures that training and education programs in B.C. are aligned with industry’s labour-market needs and priorities.
Province kicks in for tech partnership
British Columbia is a tech-driven economy. The various technology subsectors are: information and communications technology, cleantech, engineering, life sciences, and digital media. The technology sector directly employs more than 86,000 people, and wages for those jobs are 60% higher than B.C.’s industrial average. In 2013, the technology sector added $13.9 billion to B.C.’s GDP. B.C.’s 9,000 technology companies combined generated $23.3 billion in revenue in 2013.