IT is the new it career
Last Updated February 21st, 2006
NAIT grad Nathan McAuley is finding that his passion for computers is paying off, as the IT job sector heats up Canada-wide. |
As a teenager, Nathan McAuley liked to mess around with his Dad’s old computer.
“I’d type something in just to see what would happen. Those were the days when you had to type in codes to get the computer to do what you wanted. I was interested in what made a computer tick and what its capabilities were. Eventually I learned enough to design custom accounting and tracking programs to help my Dad with his construction business.”
Nathan followed his natural love of computers to NAIT, where he enrolled in the Computer Systems Technology (CST) program in 2001. Although the industry was in a downturn at the time, he wasn’t concerned. He knew where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.
Graduating in 2003, he immediately landed a contract position in Montreal, developing applications for the pharmaceutical industry. When that ended, the now 24-year-old returned to Edmonton and was quickly hired in a sales position with CompuVision Systems Inc. Headquartered in Edmonton, the company is a full-service system integrator and IT service provider for North American businesses ranging from small to Fortune 500s.
Now an account manager, Nathan serves clients in the construction, biomedical and entertainment areas. He says he loves his job because “there’s something new everyday. I’m dealing with the primary contact at companies. They look to me to solve their problems. It’s like a new job every day, and with the knowledge I acquired at NAIT, I offer solutions to make their business run better.”
As for that downturn, he says it’s a thing of the past.
“There definitely is a big boom in IT now, says Nathan. “Our HR department is constantly interviewing just to keep up with demand. There are so many opportunities, and so many different branches to go into – that’s what makes this field interesting.”
In fact, Garry Bridge, Dean of Applied Media and Information Technology at NAIT, says “Employment in the IT sector is coming back very strong from the early ‘90s. In the next year or so, we won’t be able to produce enough grads to fill the market demand.”
Garry’s predictions are backed up by other industry experts. Paul Swinwood, President of Canada’s Software Human Resource Council, was quoted in August 2005: “I believe we’ll be in a tight labour market in three years, and we’ll have companies scrambling for people.”
The trend has already started on the popular online job board Monster.ca, where the number of IT positions posted by employers increased by 47% from August 2004 to August 2005, according to Gabriel Bouchard, VP, Monster Canada.
The need for IT expertise is heating up even faster in the Edmonton region, where the demand for information technology professionals rose 79% in the third quarter of 2005, according to a recent survey by CNC Global Ltd.
An increasing number of employers contact NAIT directly, looking for skilled grads. Currently, it’s not unusual for close to 100 IT-related jobs to be posted on campus at any one time, with position titles of Systems Administrator, Network Analyst, Web Developer, Software Quality Assurance Specialist, and many more.
So how do you get in on this IT boom? NAIT’s a smart place to start. A range of one-year certificates and two-year diplomas which span the IT sector are offered, in both full-time and part-time formats. The CST program is one of the most popular, delivering a combination of the technical and business skills that employers are looking for.
“Follow your passion,” advises Gary. “IT is pervasive everywhere you go, from the trucking industry, to finance, security, health care, oil and gas, human resources, manufacturing…you name it. The demand will only increase for professionals who can use their knowledge to improve the bottom line.”
To find out more about NAIT’s IT programs click here. |
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