Digital economy supply: Canada’s post-secondary education stream

Continuous innovation and improvements in technology need to be synchronous with the required number of skilled ICT professionals for the digital economy to grow sustainably. To better understand the supply-side dynamics of ICT talent, this study concentrates on (i) the supply flow of ICT talent from Canada’s post-secondary education stream, and (ii) strategies outlining the way forward to enable better decision making by all stakeholders for a more productive, innovative, and globally competitive Canadian economy. In addition, availability of gender disaggregated enrolment and graduation data allows us to gain a better understanding of talent supply by gender.This study begins with an outline of its analytical framework. The next section provides in an-depth overview of ICT supply from Canada’s post-secondary education stream. The gender perspective and other important considerations are explored in the following two sections. In a final section of the paper, the findings of this study are summarized in the context of a discussion about strategies to stimulate the Canadian economy with required skilled ICT talent.