Vancouver’s tech sector continues to see growth and increased demand for tech talent.
American tech giant Microsoft announced on March 24 that it is expanding its workforce in Vancouver by 500 people this year to work on a variety of projects, including mixed-reality applications and the Microsoft Azure computing service, further establishing the Vancouver region as a hub for technology and innovation.
The additional jobs bring Microsoft’s presence in Vancouver to 1,700 employees and more than 3,700 employees across Canada.
“Microsoft is committed to helping Canada emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever,” said Kevin Peesker, President of Microsoft Canada. “Our deep cloud and talent investments, combined with our widespread skilling efforts, will help organizations of all types and sizes accelerate their digital transformation.”
Microsoft also announced that it is adding an Azure Edge Zone to the company’s cloud services in Vancouver to provide additional support to its customers in Western Canada dealing with latency-sensitive workloads.
Microsoft is not the only company adding jobs to Vancouver’s tech sector.
According to a recent report in Business in Vancouver, Silicon Valley fintech Tipalti Inc. announced last month that it is planning to hire 50 to 60 more workers in Vancouver in the coming year. The additions will bring the company’s local workforce to close to 100 employees.
In February alone, British Columbia added 7,400 jobs in professional, scientific and technical services.
And Vancouver’s pool of tech talent continues to grow, making it a desirable location for international tech firms like Amazon and Microsoft.
According to recent research from CBRE Group, Vancouver has added 27,500 tech talent workers to its roster of highly sought-after teach workers over the past five years, bringing the total number of tech workers in the city to nearly 85,000.
“From the North American perspective, the skilled pool of Canadian tech workers paid in discounted Canadian dollars is a significant draw for companies contemplating where to expand operations,” the CBRE’s 2020 Scoring Tech Talent report states. “In particular, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton provide the best value in North America when it comes to cost and quality.”
Tech talent workers comprise about 20 different occupations – from software developers to systems and data managers. And they work in a range of industries, including healthcare, education, manufacturing, information, government, management of companies and enterprises, and professional, scientific and technical services.
“They are fueling innovation and adapting technology within non-traditional tech sectors to increase productivity and strengthen the national economy,” the CBRE report states.
Published on Mar. 25, 2021.
