The tech sector comes into focus on this Canada-wide report “TechTalent Canada” from CBRE Research.
You can access the full report by registering HERE.
Thanks to Michael Gordon for the tip and these comments:
It provides factual information on the tech sector in Vancouver and compares us to other Canadian cities.
- Over the past 5 years employment in the tech sector has grown by 50% (2015 – 57,500 jobs), amongst the strongest rates of growth compared to other large Canadian cities
- Wages in the tech sector and the % of individuals with degrees in Vancouver compares favourably to other Canadian cities
Two pages out of 42 total. Click for larger version.
By analyzing labour market conditions for highly-skilled tech workers, 10 Canadian cities were ranked according to their competitive advantages and appeal to tech-talent workers and tech employers. This edition is unique as it focuses largely on established tech occupations with over 1,500* employees, as tracked by Statistics Canada. The analysis also provides insight into tech-talent demographics and how their growth patterns are impacting cities and real estate markets across Canada.
CBRE, a large multi-national, offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting.
So here’s the reality check: Average tech salary in Vancouver: $72k CDN. Average tech salary in Silicon Valley: $140k USD. Cost of living: similar (my daughter works there.)
The cost of living in Silicon Valley is not similar. Housing costs are significantly higher. Also, it is primarily a suburban office park environment where you have no choice but own and drive a car every day. It’s not a walkable or a transit-friendly place.
https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/san-jose-california?currency=CAD
Source for tech salaries in above post: Huffington Post mid-career average with bonuses 3/1/2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/silicon-valley-salaries_us_56d61ee6e4b0bf0dab33ce96. Early career average salary ~$95k USD
Things are certainly changing fast here since Amazon and Microsoft opened large offices downtown. We’re still a tech backwater though and mainly serve as a place for US companies to hire discount developers who live in the same time zone as Seattle and Silicon Valley. I’ve actually heard stories of people being offered jobs with Amazon and given the choice of getting paid in CAD to work in Vancouver or getting paid the same dollar amount in USD to work in Seattle.
What we’re lacking is a large anchor company that attracts 20 something developers from around the world who meet and break off to start new, local companies and grow the local tech community. Amazon and Microsoft do this in Seattle and Google and Apple (among others) are filling this role in the Bay Area. Here we fall over ourselves to praise HootSuite as a prime example of local tech. Nothing against HootSuite but if that’s our standard bearer we have a LONG way to go.
It’s fairly easy to pin the high cost of housing on a few factors (land availability, lack of diversity in the stock, local and international speculation …). It’s harder to understand why salaries in similar fields are so different between Canada and elsewhere. The differential between our low dollar and other currencies doesn’t cover all of the gap.
Does the report mention what percentage of the tech workers are Canadian citizens?
I lived through the Nortel fueled heydey in Ottawa, when local and other governments couldn’t bend over backwards fast enough to develop massive new campuses for the sure to be endlessly expanding new tech workforce.
I mean hey, it’s the Internet! How could it ever stop getting bigger?
Back then every post-secondary school in the land was hustling money to start computer related training – often at the expense of other disciplines that didn’t have blinking lights.
Good thing we’ve realized that the REAL secret to become fabulously rich is to teach all grade school kids to “code!”
I work for a very large company, we recently learned wages would be frozen until 2019.