Canada’s Summer Job Market is Sizzling

The technology job market is hot this summer. Check out this recent headline in the Huffington Post: Need A Job? Try Canada, Where Hiring Is Booming And Home Prices Are Rising. The article mentions that with a population that’s one tenth the size of the US, Canada created 10,000 more jobs than the USA last month.

Summer is typically a slow time in the job market. Not this year. The Canadian economy created 93,000 jobs in June according to Statistics Canada. The new jobs are primarily in Ontario and Quebec. In June Ontario added 60,000 new jobs and Quebec added 30,000 new jobs

We focus primarily on IT job placements at Stafflink. The majority of new hires we were involved with in June and July came from financial services (primarily banks and insurance companies), software and mobile companies. For hard-to-find skill sets like J2ME, Derivatives or Android our candidates have been receiving multiple job offers. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen this level of competition for candidates.

The new jobs Stafflink has been working to fill are evenly split between permanent-fulltime and contract. Compare that to 12 months ago when 90% of the job orders we received were for short term contract opportunities.

I believe that this strong job market will continue. Why? How can we ensure our continued success?

• Innovation. Our clients are developing new products and product lines with innovative research and development that is helping to drive the increase in new jobs, mostly in the technology sector.
• Stable banks create a secure environment for new business development and growth.
• Education. Schools need to offer the courses people need to develop the skills that the current economy demands.
• Diverse workforce. Multiculturalism is our strength. Employers who value qualifications from other countries gain access to a larger talent pool. Having people with diverse backgrounds at the table brings more creativity and innovation.

Go Canada! Canada is poised for continued success and strong job creation because of our diverse, well-educated and innovative people.

Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/need-a-job-try-canada-whe_n_640555.html
http://www.thestar.com/business/markets/article/834018--tsx-closes-up-on-jobs-data

Related Articles:

Top 10 IT Skill Sets in Demand in 2010
The Future's So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades

Its Time to Spring Forward

The Job Market Longtail

Tim Collins, President and Founder,

Stafflink Solutions Ltd

http://www.stafflink.ca/

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010

The technology job market is indeed recovering. I'm happy to report that many of the companies that reduced their staff over the past 18 months are now hiring. In the last quarter we've seen a significant increase in job orders. Why? I see two major factors: the stability of Canadian banks and the rise of the mobile industry. The trend during the recession was to cut new development  and merely maintain systems. But we're seeing a turn around. Opportunities with mCommerce and the mobile industry are driving new product development. This drives the demand for people with the skills to push the new technologies forward. Here are the top 10 skills we're recruiting for today:

1. J2ME - Mobile Developers with Java API's - Many Blackberry apps are written with J2ME. Demand for this skill set is stronger than supply. Schools are only beginning to offer it in their curriculum.
2. Android Developers - The Google muscle along with the rapid rise of the Adroid phone market share is creating a strong demand for Android developers.
3. C# programmer analysts - Many companies are adopting complete Microsoft solutions with the Visual Studio of products. This is due to the strength of Microsoft's sales team and a lower price point than most competitors.
4. Objective C programming language used for iPhones and iPads. Many people are developing iPhone apps in their basement but our clients want people who've developed large scale apps for major corporations.
5. Data Warehouse Specialists - Demand for this skill is increasing as companies learn that they can cross correlate data about customers. That's why all the stores want to put you in their database.
6. COBIT - security specialists
7. QA Testers with QTP and LoadRunner
8. Mobile Business Analysts
9. J2EE/Weblogic specialists
10. Project Manager/Project Coordinators

Tim Collins, President and Founder,

Stafflink Solutions Ltd

http://www.stafflink.ca/

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Google Goggles: Mobile Phones with Eyes

Google's latest innovation in search technology is big. They've developed a visual search application called Google Goggles.

Essentially you take a photograph with your Android phone and then use the photo to initiate a Google search and learn more about what's in the picture.

Why is this big? This visual search app will change the way searching is done on mobile phones. It gives your mobile phone vision. An Android phone with Google Goggles can process visual information. It potentially gives you immediate access to everything the Internet knows about the image.

For the past few years a fleet of Googlemobiles have been continuously snapping photos for Google Street View. Now they are busy collecting even more images to expand the reach of visual search.

Apparently Google Goggles works well with stores, business cards, restaurants and books. It's useful for business people. You can photograph a business card and quickly enter it into your contacts and click on the number to call them.

Imagine taking a picture of restaurant and linking to reviews, the menu and information about other restaurants in the area. Google has an extensive list of books as well. You can take a picture of a book while browsing at the book store and get reviews and price comparisons.

It looks like Android with Google Goggles is going to compete with the iPhone market. Google is saying that there will soon be over 1000 Android apps available.

Check out video clip about Google Goggles at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgfz0zPmH4

Tim Collins
Stafflink.ca
timc@stafflink.ca
www.twitter.com/stafflinks
www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins