KENSINGTON - Island information technology companies appear to be optimistic about future growth, despite reports of high student dropout rates in school programs.
Sixteen employers in the province will recruit for nearly 100 new jobs at an IT Sector Council job fair on March 24 in Charlottetown.
The job fair's co-ordinator Natasha McCarthy said there are many students from UPEI and Holland College available to take the positions.
"There will be a new group of grads coming out of those programs and they're extremely excited to have students come to the job fair because of the entry-level positions," McCarthy said. "I've heard from one Islander who's working in St. Louis who wants to come to the fair so he can work at home."
Recently, the two schools said student dropout rates are requiring IT firms to seek workers from overseas or to turn down contracts due to lack of employees.
While it remains to be seen how many rewards this month's job fair will reap for employers, some say they're more than willing to hire local employees.
GeoSurf Inc., an Alberta company specializing in map-based software development, moved its headquarters to Kensington last June.
The company has only one position to fill through the job fair, but owner Mike Taylor said there is unlimited potential for his business.
"The Island is a good place for growth, especially now that companies can work from any location they want to and they don't necessarily need to deal face-to-face with their clients. My goal is to double our business every year," Taylor said. "I would prefer to hire someone from the Island because it's the stability of knowing the employee doesn't have to move and they know the market."
The IT Sector Council's job fair takes place March 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Atlantic Technology Centre.
sbrun@journalpioneer.com
Plenty of jobs at IT fair
KENSINGTON - Island information technology companies appear to be optimistic about future growth, despite reports of high student dropout rates in school programs.
Sixteen employers in the province will recruit for nearly 100 new jobs at an IT Sector Council job fair on March 24 in Charlottetown.
The job fair's co-ordinator Natasha McCarthy said there are many students from UPEI and Holland College available to take the positions.
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- TaxPayeJoe
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:08:47
entry-level positions ...that's all they ever are on pei. Or should I say, that's what the pay is for most jobs...
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- Experience
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:03:52
I think it is well established that IT jobs on PEI typically don't pay what the industry standard dictates in larger centres. These jobs still pay well and are a great stepping stone for newbies to gain the needed experience to get the higher paying jobs. In the long run these companies will end up paying for there highly skilled staff or else the turn over rate will be significant. Experince is what pays in the IT business.
