Want a Job in I.T.? – Look Beyond the Video Game Industry!
Publié le 16 January 2018
In other countries, the Province of Québec has come to be perceived as an Eldorado of the video game industry. The truth is that this industry represents a small portion of the many professional opportunities that the field of information technology (also known as I.T.) has to offer. Concerned by a shortage of labour, the industry has opened its doors to talent from abroad.
With such household names as Ubisoft or Electronic Arts at the forefront, the video game industry benefits from enormous visibility in the Province of Québec and world-wide. However, of the 210,000 IT professionals in Québec, only 5% work for this industry. “It’s a very specialized area. It would be a mistake to think that you can join just by snapping your fingers” warns Vincent Corbeil, Operations Manager and Head of Market Analysis for TechnoCompétences, the sector committee for labour in information technology and communications for the province.
Urgent Needs
The field of IT has a broad range of jobs to offer but the majority are in the computer technology and software edition areas. These provide work for 77,000 IT professionals according to a 2018 sector survey.
Half of these employees work in IT companies while the other half work for banks, insurance companies or in manufacturing. “With an increasingly computerized economy, businesses need to hire IT specialists to use their data or digitize their processes” says Nicole Martel, CEO of Association québécoise des technologies (AQT), the Québec association for technology.
Last April, the CTIC, the Québec council for information and communication technology, estimated that 44,000 positions in this field would need to be filled by 2021 whereas only 3,000 graduates enter the job market each year. To meet the demand, the industry has turned to immigrant labour. Among the positions to be filled are programmers, UX designers, data architects, quality and control testing specialists as well as Agile project managers and consultant-analysts who can understand a client’s need and frame them in terms of a technological solution.
Bilingual profiles wanted
Immigrants make up 27% of IT specialists in Québec. Online recruiting and job fairs held abroad have made it far easier for businesses to recruit in a different country. “The main hurdle is how long it takes to get the work permits” says Nicole Martel.
Of course, businesses in Québec seek French-speaking workers but the demand is mostly for bilingual candidates. The inability to speak English hurts your chances of being hired.
Few large businesses
Another consideration before starting your search for a job: the IT industry in Québec centers primarily on small and medium businesses. Only 1 business out of 10 has more than 50 employees. “You’re likely to be interviewed by the owner of the business rather than an HR expert” says Vincent Corbeil. “Your hiring might hinge a bit more on gut feeling”.
Typically, small and medium businesses have looser hierarchies and more multi-disciplinary, less defined jobs. Coming from a company with large groups of people who have clearly delineated responsibilities and an overarching structure may turn out to be challenging in terms of adaptation. Flexibility and creativity, good communication skills and aptitudes for team-work are all vital skills. “You need a quick grasp of the cultural codes that regulate your work environment” says Vincent Corbeil.
