B.C. programmers will be able to earn more
The province has once again shown how important the IT sector is to it.
The B.C. government is looking to invest $15 million CAD in the Innovators Skills Initiative (ISI) to fill a skills gap in the technology sector. The initiative allows businesses that hire tech workers to receive a $5,000 CAD grant — the money will be used to supplement employees' salaries.
"Too many deserving women, people of different genders, indigenous people, black people and marginalized people are struggling to get into the technology sector and that needs to change," said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Employment, Economic Recovery and Innovation.
According to Kahlon, the Initiative will help create a more diverse technology sector, provide people with a stable future, good jobs and opportunities to advance their careers. Grants will be provided to employ people who are scarce in the technology sector: women, diverse genders, indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities.
Meetings will be held soon with communities and associations such as the Black Business and Enterprise Society of Canada, the Indigenous Peoples' Technology Council and so on. The government will then prioritize the ISI Initiative to make it more accessible to diverse populations. Applications from companies are expected to be accepted this summer and the program itself will launch in the fall.
The technology sector is very important to British Columbia. The province has a Technical Immigration Program, which allows immigrants from IT and a number of other related professions. It was started as a temporary pilot program, but recently made permanent.
Today, BC's Technical Program is one of the top priorities for BC. The province holds immigration selections every 2 weeks inviting 70-90 people each. For more information on the number of invitations and passing scores, see story of selections.
