Canada is facing an “alarming” shortage of information and communications technology workers due to a gap between the skills employers are looking for and the capabilities of job seekers, says a study released Tuesday.

“We’re looking at a labour market that isn’t working particularly well for employers or job seekers,” said John O’Grady of Prism Economics and Analysis, who authored the study for the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC).

Between 2011 and 2016, Canadian employers will need to hire about 106,000 ICT workers, but with declining enrolment in post-secondary program and increased difficulty bringing temporary skilled workers to Canada, those employees will be difficult to find, the study indicates.

In Ontario alone, about 50,000 ICT jobs will need to be filled in the next five years, said Paul Swinwood, ICTC President and CEO. Immigrants and new graduates will be able to fill 60-70 per cent of those positions, he added.

There will be particular shortages of computer and information systems managers, telecommunications carriers managers, information systems analysts and consultants and broadcast technicians due to increasing need in sectors such as cloud computing and virtualization.

“What we are seeing is the evolution of the ICT sector in Canada,” said Swinwood.

Employers are now looking for technologically proficient workers who also have “soft” business skills and specialized knowledge in areas such as health, finance or digital media.

Enrolment in ICT programs at post-secondary institutions is declining and those who do graduate don’t always have the practical experience needed to gain a foothold in the industry, said O’Grady. Post-secondary institutions should look to developing cross-disciplinary programs that help graduates attain skills in technology as well as business, communications and human resources.

The study, “Outlook for Human Resources in the ICT Labour Market, 2011–2016,” was based on an econometric model of supply and demand trends for ICT occupations developed by Prism Economics and the Centre for Spatial Economics, a review of third-party forecasts of ICT spending and employment, enrolment and graduation trends in relevant post-secondary programs, telephone interviews with 111 industry informants, 11 focus groups with post-secondary and industry representatives, and a web survey of 268 employers.