Vancouver ranked Canada's third best market for tech employment

After adding an impressive 22,300 tech jobs between 2013 and 2018, Vancouver has claimed the third spot for tech employment in Canada, according to a new report.

CBRE has released its latest Canadian Tech Talent Ranking and it revealed that Toronto is far outpacing Canada’s other leading tech centres.

However, the report also revealed smaller cities continue to make strides.

To produce its ranking, CBRE analyzed 20 Canadian cities to create a scorecard that ranks their tech talent offerings.

The scorecard uses 13 metrics to measure each market’s depth, vitality, and attractiveness to tech employers and potential employees, including the availability of talent, quality of labour and gross operating costs.

To generate an overall score, each metric has been weighted by relative importance to companies seeking tech talent.

CBRE Canada’s Top Tech Talent 2019

Vancouver claimed third spot with an overall score of 71.4. Toronto ranked first, scoring 88.1, and Ottawa came second with 73.1.

The report revealed that Vancouver is home to 74,700 tech workers, which make up 6.4% of the total employment.

Moreover, the addition of 22,300 tech jobs in the past five years was a 42.6% increase. However, the report also revealed that Vancouver’s tech industry continues to be dominated by males, as only 18% of workers are female compared to 82% male.

“Although Canada’s major markets have deep pools of tech talent and are globally competitive, the competition for office space is fierce and tech tenants are having to be decisive and creative when it comes to their real estate,” said CBRE Canada Vice Chairman Paul Morassutti.

“Mid- and small-sized markets are gathering major momentum, because they offer tech firms greater availability of office space, operational cost savings, and untapped talent pools. It says something that the two largest ranking improvements were in Victoria and Oshawa, and the largest venture capital deal was in St. John’s.”

CBRE Canada’s Top Tech Talent 2019

Vancouver’s primary tech industries, according to the report, are software/app developers and digital media/gaming.