Computer Systems and Networks/Telecom Technologist

In this section you’ll find:

• General information on IT technicians and employees in the field.
• More specific details about work in computer systems, networks and telecom technology.
• Information about the job market for networks/telecom technologists in Ontario.

Fast facts about networks/telecom technology:

• Results of a 2005 report suggest that handling many different kinds of jobs at the same time—or multi-tasking—is very important in many IT jobs.
• About half of all IT workers surveyed said they worked in all of the top six IT areas of: software, web/Internet/intranet, database, hardware, network, and systems.
• Technicians and technologists make up about 11.5 % of the IT workforce in private businesses. Most of these were User Support Technicians.
• In the public sector, the number of User Support Technicians is quite high at 15.9%.
• Almost half of IT technicians in Canada live and work in Ontario.
• Over half of IT employees work in large organizations of 50 or more workers.
• IT professionals in the Ottawa Gatineau region had the highest salary average in the private sector: $69,900 for women and $74, 406 for men.
• 62 % of IT Technicians attended college, university or a post-graduate program.
• Of these, the largest group attended community college—or about 38%.

What are employers saying?

• The largest obstacles employers faced finding suitable workers were experience and locating candidates with the skills needed. 24% of employers felt that poor communication skills and/or language barriers made staffing harder.
• Employees surveyed felt that communication and interpersonal skills were more important than general technical and business skills in IT jobs, especially teamwork, spoken and written communication.
• An overwhelming 90% of employers rejected an internationally educated professional candidate because they believed the language barrier was too challenging.
• 41% of applicants were rejected because they did not have Canadian experience while 31% were because they didn’t have enough documentation.
• When selecting new workers, most employers felt job experience was more important than education level.
• Employers generally believe that professionals who were internationally trained are high performers.

“We hire a lot of immigrants, but have no immigrant hiring strategy per se. What’s more important is that they are well-attuned to fair enterprise and have the necessary skill set.”

 Marc Neeb, Global Head of Human Resources, Magna Inc.

• Based on these results, good English communication skills appear to be very important to employers.
• Over 60% of surveyed employers felt technicians, programmers and software engineers were generally most qualified to work in Canada.

How do IT technicians find work?

• The top three ways IT professionals use to find work are:
  • Internet websites,
  • networking
  • help wanted ads in newspapers.
• In the public sector, IT workers used the government or company’s website, networking and Internet websites to look for a job.
• 30% of Systems Testing Technicians surveyed said their last job was outside of Canada. This suggests an area where many newcomers to Canada are employed.
• Employee referrals, word-of-mouth and resumes submitted to the company (not in response to a job posting) were the top three ways employers in the private sector recruited IT employees.
• The processes used for recruitment in the public sector are very different. Employers reported their top three methods of finding staff were through: official staffing rules, government websites and help wanted ads in newspapers and other print media.
• Larger companies of 500 or more are most likely to hire a professional trained outside of Canada while small businesses of one to 10 people are least likely to do so.

The Job Market

Average Income for Computer and Network Operators and Web Technicians:

Annual Annual Income Ontario Workers All Occupations	Average Annual Income Computer and Network Operators and Web Technicians	Average Annual Income, Certified Computer/Information Technologists	Average Hourly Canadian Wage, All Workers	Average Hourly Canadian Wage, Computer and Network Operators and Web Technicians
$47,299	$47, 619	Associates $52,800 Technicians: $67,300 Technologists: $72,500	$18.07	$22.94

Average Income for Telecommunications Installation Technicians :

Annual Annual Income Ontario Workers All Occupations	Average Annual Income Ontario Telecommunications Installation Technicians	Average Annual Income, Certified Computer/Information Technologists	Average Hourly Canadian Wage, All Workers	Average Hourly Canadian Wage, Telecommunications Installation Technicians
$47,299	$47, 553	Associates $67, 400 Technicians: $70, 200 Technologists: $77, 000	$18.07	$21.75

 

These salaries are considerably higher than the Ontario average but this data may be higher than the true average because:

• The sample size for the study was quite small (108 people total).
• The average salaries are of OACETT certified members. Certification may account for the higher wage.

For more information on the salary you can expect to make in the IT industry visit the Canadian IT Salary Calculator

Information Technology Links

IT World Canada

Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)

The Canadian Technology Human Resources Board

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC)