The importance of global workers in Canada's ICT and digital media industries /

The Importance of Global Workers in Canada’s ICT and Digital Media Industries January 2014 The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Media industries are among the fastest growing sectors of the Canadian economy. [...] And, as one would expect in a tight labour market, our workforce is well-compensated: in ICT, the average wage is 52% higher than the national average, while the average salary of $72,500 in the video game industry is significantly higher than the Canadian average of approximately $45,000. [...] The primary input for production in the information and communications technology industry is the brainpower – the skill and experience – of its workforce. [...] During the period from 1998 to 2011, the ICT industry participated in the facilitated processing of the Information Technology Workers Program, which expedited the process of admitting temporary foreign IT workers after ensuring that there were no available resources in Canada to fill the position. [...] The systemic loopholes in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program should be addressed so that it does not impact the ability of the Canadian skilled workforce to stay engaged in the labour market.