The majority of Canadian companies did not plan to increase their IT training expenses in 2005; although nearly 30% did predict a rise. After a three year decline, training needs for the optimal utilization of technology by employees saw an important revival in 2004. The skills most in demand are, in order: Windows XP, TCP/IP, Security, Windows 2000 and the Microsoft SQL server. Although the relative importance varies from one province to another, nine out of ten skills sought are the same everywhere in Canada.
“By examining the needs of IT skills by category, note the report, we observe that demand is decreasing on the whole, but that companies only seem to have focused their interest on certain priorities.”
The report underlines a rise in professional IT training budgets, despite a decrease in the number of skills sought. The consultancy firm IDC explains this phenomenon by a rationalization process. “Companies concentrate their efforts on a group of chosen technologies and their corresponding skills. This process is the end result of solutions that came about as the technology was maturing and the emphasis that companies were putting on productivity.”
The public sector is faced with increasing needs. It’s there that lies the strongest demand for skills “in response to an aging population, established systems and the act of promoting new technologies.”
Source : IDC Canada consulting, Perspectives pour 2005 : Réinvestissement et rationalisation : les compétences en TI les plus en demande par les entreprises canadiennes en 2005, Juin 2005