rubberduck124

I have been thinking moving to Canada (Vancouver) for some time, after visiting a few times recently. Would anyone know if IT skills are in demand?

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Maybe the question should be *can* you do it - what visa do you plan to move on?

If you've got a visa sorted, then have a hunt through the forums for info on IT occupations as there have been previous threads on the subject. I can't see how they'd be in demand though, given that there are no IT related jobs on the list of eligible Skilled Worker occupations, and that the IT 'LMO exemption' program ended a couple of years ago - it's only a guess, but that implies to me that IT workers aren't needed like they once were.

If you don't have a visa sorted, then presumably you'll need a job offer from an employer prepared to go through the paperwork/hassle/wait of hiring you and getting the LMO, but hopefully others that work in the IT industry will be able to advise you better on your chances of that. Maybe you could be a bit more specific and let us know exactly what your skills/experience in IT are (not that it'll mean anything to me, but I know it will to others on here!).

Best of luck.

Siphorous

Good luck rubberduck. My background is in various IT related things so I know the pain there. Oompa pretty much summed it up regarding job offers etc but for some additional info - here's a page describing the forecasted projection for 2011-2020 for Canada as a whole - this is for a typical set of IT skills but may not cover yours (see below the link if they don't).

http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/rep...=n&s=2#outlook

If the IT skills don't match yours (title of the page, places on the page where it refers to 'this occupation') then the country wide outlook can be redone by choosing job title, province/city etc and then clicking the "Outlook" tab and "Canada". For these IT jobs, the outlook is grouped (bit on the page 'Occupations in this group) - so if your skills fall into one of those group occupations - the outlook won't change.

Also, a much more general page here about the labour market:

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplace...on/index.shtml

jericho

Is it really necessary to keep asking people about their visa etc. If someone really wants to make the move, they'll make it happen. If not PNP, then FSW. If not FSW, then LMO/TWP. If not TWP, then Bunac, etc....

There are enough options available that 99% of people are eligible for at least one.

christmasoompa

I'd have said the visa is a fairly essential part of the process.

My point is that if they already have PR for instance, they have a lot more freedom, but if they need an employer prepared to 'sponsor' them, then that may impact the advice they are given by others in the IT industry - for instance, perhaps they'll advise that Toronto is the place they should be aiming for where demand is higher.

So personally, whilst I agree that most people (not all though) will qualify for one of the 50 or so visa routes, the advice for those routes may be very different and imo that's why it's important to know which they are planning on.

rubberduck124

Thanks guys for all your reply's
I feel this is the first step on a very long road!