IT Professionals - some help please
 

Hi ex pats

I am considering of moving to Toronto, as a skilled worker (I have family there so its a preference). I work in IT, as an Application Developer(programmer). I have more than 7 years experience, using .Net, VB, Sql, etc. I did already apply in 2009 as FSW but programmer roles weren't considered on NOC, only management roles. Having checked the new NOC as from May 2013, developer/programmer roles are eligible to apply.

I would like to ask anyone who works in IT about the job market in TO area: what are the salaries compared to UK? Whats the cost of living in TO? do Canadian employers consider work experience outside of Canada? Are there many IT jobs there, what are the most sought after skills?
Also, about the FSW visa, do I need to do an English test, if I am from the UK?

If anyone works in IT, (or not even), can give me some advice, that would be much appreciated

I'm single and 34 yrs old by the way. I'd be immigrating on my own.

Thanks.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

also curious to know i.t job scene in toronto.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

I know the company I work for is planning to hire some new developers in the coming months but nothing has been set in stone just yet. It's a web studio so web design and development mostly dealing with .NET and SQL etc. We're actually outside Toronto, about 45 minutes west in Guelph. Lovely city.

I'd imagine the job market is fairly healthy overall. There seemed to be a lot of opportunities last summer when I was looking. This job I'm in was about the 3rd or 4th place I applied to and I got hired within a few weeks of seriously starting to look.

I work more on the design side and they were happy to look at UK experience and weren't picky about my UK qualifications either. A UK degree is generally regarded as equal to a Canadian one.

You will need to do an english test for the FSW program, yes.

Salaries...really hard to compare. It'll be based on your skills, experience and basically how good you can negotiate. Taxes and the cost of living is different here too. Also depends where in the UK you're coming from as wages in London would likely be higher than in Newcastle for example. I'd imagine for a developer with good skills and experience you could easily ask for at least $50-60k which would be a fairly decent wage here. If it was downtown Toronto it would likely be higher.

What do you currently get in the UK for a wage?

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

Hi Orly
Many thanks for your reply, its been very helpful. And wanted to ask if your company are hiring at the mo, and willing to sponsor? because I am a web developer with more than 7 years .net and sql experience (amongst other things). So if they are, let me know (if you know thx)

I realised an English test has to be done, a bit pointless coming from the UK but hey ho. A

I'm on a very good salary here, I'm from London and work in the NHS. My salary isnt as high compared to the private sector, its almost £40k, so not too bad I guess. I dont expect to get the equiv in TO but enough to live on comfortable would be ideal. What are rental prices in TO? is city life too expensive compared to London?? I do have family in Don Mills, but I will only live with them until I get myself sorted with work and then rent a flat/room elsewhere.

Do you know what the sought after skills are in IT? is .Net in demand, and theres a good amount of jobs out there for me or I should consider training in something else to broaden my job search?

Thanks again much appreciated.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

As your question isn't specifically about immigration or visas, I have moved your thread to the general Canada forum as I believe you will get more responses there.


:)

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

good to know uk quals are seen as equal as canadian quals.
i have irish quals in computer networks so hopefully it will be ok.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

I recently had a meeting with my business advisor who told me about a program that is available for newcomers to Canada who are in the IT industry. I don't know if it is of any help, but thought I would post it. It's based around Toronto but also extends elsewhere I believe.

http://www.ictc-ctic.ca/?page_id=1779

They offer placements with IT companies to get that all important "Canadian experience" and a reference - some paid, some unpaid. Some are temporary positions but others are permanent. It may be a way of getting a foot in the door or at least some contacts.

The local one has several positions available

Edited to add - they also have a list of companies - might be useful: http://employerdirectory.ictc-ctic.ca/
:)

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

OMG, how many of these IT organizations are there? They seem to be endless.

5,000 quota on SW1 with a cap of 300 per? (Which means a lot less than 300 if you divide 5,000 by 24). Why bother. I'd get a work permit first, do it that way.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

So you know where the nearest parkade is for a Timmie's run, eh?

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

Somewhat useful listing of IT companies in Canada: http://itac.ca/members/regular

Bear in mind a lot of them are just sales organizations for US companies.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

Has anyone been successful landing an i.t job outside of canada, be it linked in or any other job site. Is monster.ca any good?

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

Granted I have not been looking in IT, been looking in banking for my husband. We started using Indeed.ca and the job postings on LinkedIn, but haven't had any responses from those so we are now contacting recruiters as it seems to be more communicative...

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

1) Get a profile set-up on LinkedIn and make sure your settings are set to Canada. It's one of the best passive and active job search sites out there, and the search is two-way (recruiters look there too).

2) Living wise, if I was unfamiliar with Ontario IT market, I would in long run consider planting myself equidistant (in travelling time) from both Toronto and the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge areas. There is a significant IT skills demand in these areas. Hence, I would look at renting/buying in areas like Milton, Mississauga etc that also have a Go Train connection.

3) Get in touch with 3 or 4 reputable IT agencies in advance.

4) Consider both public and private sectors. The public sector may initially have lower entry salaries and rigid pay grade structure, but you'll get good experience before you venture out into the market.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

That's an enormous compromise for the sake of a job that might not exist. Mississauga and Milton are like Milton Keynes; suburbs consisting of tract housing and identikit shopping plazas. Milton doesn't even have much of a train service. It's hard to see where in the UK one might be moving from such that moving there would be better (except in the most crass terms, people in Mississauga probably do have bigger televisions than those in Doncaster).

I think it makes more sense to find a job in the hope that somewhere nice to live will be within commuting distance; by TTC or perhaps by bicycle or feet.

Re: IT Professionals - some help please
 

^ ^ ^

Lol...do you wait all day on BE doing string searches for 'Mississauga' and then launch your anti-Missi diatribe with all the rationality of a jurist at a Salem witch trial ? What does invoking comparisons with Milton Keynes and big televisions have to do with the OP's job search question ?

I just gave my opinion on loading the dice in favour of the OP's IT search by mentioning one variable - that of location. My last four job roles have been split between the GTA and KW.