The Canadian Technology sector is hot. And it’s about to get even hotter thanks to the news that Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook) is coming to Canada. On March 29th, the company announced plans to open a new Canadian engineering hub in Toronto. This will create about 2,500 new jobs over the next 5 years.
“According to a statement issued Tuesday, the Toronto hub will introduce Canada’s first WhatsApp, Messenger and Remote Presence engineering teams, while growing the existing Canadian Reality Labs and AI Research teams,” says Abby Neufeld from CTV News Toronto.
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“The hub will help develop Meta’s new virtual reality technology known as the ‘metaverse,’ launched in 2021. Within the metaverse, shared virtual environments provide users the ability to work, play and socialize with one another,” she adds.
Many of the jobs will be engineering-focused. Remote positions will allow Canadians from across the country to compete for roles with the company.
Toronto technology recruiters recognize that while it’s a great time to be a Canadian technology worker, it has also become an extremely challenging time to be an employer looking for tech talent. It has created a double-edged sword for the industry.
It’s not just Facebook that is expanding into Canada. It’s many of the tech industry’s biggest companies. Kelsey Rolfe from Canadian Business explains:
“U.S. heavy-hitters like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and Pinterest have opened satellite offices in the city, and Walmart also announced it’s opening a global tech site in Toronto as it ramps up online sales. Sealing our fate, the New York Times recently deemed Toronto the ‘quietly booming tech town,’ pointing out it’s the third-largest tech hub in North America.”
There are many in the industry with concerns about our ability to sustain hiring. They also question whether Canadian tech companies can offer Silicon Valley-level salaries to retain workers.
There are thousands of open positions, especially for computer programmers, software engineers, web developers, and database analysts. Lack of highly skilled workers has already driven up the average salary in the industry; in some cases, wages are up over 20%.
As a tech company, expect to be in a battle for top available talent. The market is already on fire. Meta (Facebook) coming to Canada, along with many other Silicon Valley companies, will make the war for tech talent even more intense.
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