Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 3130 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DE LA TECHNOLOGIE DE L’INFORMATION ITAC on Talent | Page 5 THE VOICE OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SECTOR IN CANADA | www.itac.ca 23 The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, September 2016, 42 Parliament, 1st Session, page 28 24 Committee, page 28 TFWs. The need to address NOCs is supported by the Committee’s second and 11th recommendations.23 4. Create service standards for processing applications Applications often take at least six months to process. This delay can cause Canadian companies to lose clients and mandates to foreign competitors. This recommendation is supported by the Committee’s second recommendation and by Minister Morneau’s recent announcement.24 ITAC looks forward to these changes being implemented early next year. As the Committee has recommended a review of the LMIA occur, ITAC also suggests the following considerations be a part of that review: • Exempt ICT companies from having to disclose salaries in LMIA advertisements ICT companies are domestically and globally very competitive. The requirement that companies publicly disclose salaries when advertising the LMIA is therefore off-putting for many companies. This can be especially difficult for smaller Canadian companies, who cannot always match the salaries offered by large multinationals. • Clarify the definition of “specialized knowledge” in the International Mobility and TFW programs This definition may be graded and based on several factors including: education, work experience, training, certifications, and salary. This will make the application process more predictable and easier for both applicants and assessment officers. Bring tech talent home There is a significant number of Canadians working in tech in California and New York. These Canadians are part of strong ex-pat networks, leveraged by Global Affairs Canada as part of its Global Accelerator program. Many professionals go to the U.S. when they are younger, but may wish to return home as they start and grow a family. As such, Canadians getting experience in tech hotbeds like Silicon Valley is not necessarily a bad thing. Returning to ITAC recommends the Government develop policy mechanisms to smoothen and hasten the process of repatriating Canadian tech talent working abroad. Canada, these people would bring back with them additional skills, connections and innovative thinking developed within the world’s most dynamic tech clusters. In other words, where filling the talent gap is concerned, this younger cohort of Canadian tech talent is a crucial demographic to target. However, many ITAC members have commented that they almost did not return to Canada—particularly due to slow, complicated and frustrating processes associated with bringing an American spouse with them. Conclusion Canada’s ITC skills gap represents a huge opportunity for Canada—including youth, as well as those underrepresented in the industry such as women and Indigenous people who are underrepresented. By addressing the skills gap, the Government can simultaneously build expertise while also diversifying the Canadian economy. ITAC recommends the Government consider two important changes to better facilitate how LMIA applications are processed: (1) by exempting ICT companies from having to disclose salaries in advertisements; and (2) clarifying the definition of “specialized knowledge” in the International Mobility and TFW programs.