Tech Industry in Canada: Building Future-Forward Tech Teams

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The tech industry in Canada is evolving, and its leaders face a critical challenge: They must move quickly to keep pace with the sector’s ongoing technology advancements, yet are hindered by a persistent shortage of skilled tech and IT talent that threatens to delay or derail their organizations’ strategic priorities.

According to Robert Half research, half of Canadian technology leaders are expanding their teams to keep up with company growth, but 91 per cent report challenges finding skilled professionals. This inability to staff open roles can lead to missed deadlines and extended project timelines while negatively impacting team morale, undermining efforts to retain existing employees.

To help tech leaders navigate hiring, the talent experts at Robert Half are pleased to offer a new report for 2025: Building Future-Forward Tech Teams.

What will you find in the new report?

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To get to the heart of the tech-related challenges businesses are facing in today’s ever-evolving talent landscape, Robert Half surveyed Canada tech industry hiring managers at small, midsize and large companies across the country.

The resulting research captures the major concerns and priorities that are top of mind for business leaders in the technology space. In particular, the report reveals a continued need for leaders to close skills gaps and build future-ready teams that can help their organizations reduce technical debt, modernize IT operations and drive digital transformation.

Updating and expanding on findings from the 2024 edition, the 2025 edition of Building Future-Forward Tech Teams includes data and insights from Robert Half, our subsidiary and global consulting firm Protiviti, and industry experts, examining the latest challenges Canada tech industry leaders are facing and how they’re navigating them in 2025.

Topics include:

The Tech Skills Shortage: A Growth and Transformation Inhibitor

From Security to AI: Top Tech Priorities and Challenges for 2025

Technical Debt: The Growing Burden Businesses Can’t Ignore

Talent Strategies for Ongoing Digital Transformation

Future-Focused Resource Planning for Enterprise Systems Projects

Developing Your Next-Gen Tech Team

Next-Gen Is More Than Future-Ready

Resources for Technology Leaders

What is there to know about the tech industry in Canada?

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Most Canadian business leaders, technology or otherwise, recognize that digital transformation is neither a choice nor a one-time project but an ongoing business imperative. This means that initiatives such as digitizing operations by adopting cloud-based and AI-powered tools are a given. However, these projects also carry inherent security and compliance risks, and the talent needed to implement and run them can be hard to find.

The top priorities for Canada tech industry leaders* in 2025, which will affect the job market, reflect this dual focus:

AI, machine learning and automation initiatives

Security of IT systems and information

AI governance

ERP/CRM system implementation

Cloud projects and initiatives

On the one hand, many are increasing business resilience and effectiveness by incorporating cloud-based platforms including enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems and AI tools into their operations. On the other, there’s a clear understanding that these efforts need to be supported by improved risk management and operational efficiency.

This means that Canadian professionals looking to enter the tech job market don’t just need skills in one or two areas, but several, based on the hiring manager priorities above. These priorities are interconnected in many ways, with advancement on one front often relying on meaningful progress made in others.

“Identifying the tech skills required to stay competitive in the market and attract top talent has never been more important. As AI adoption and digital transformation continue to expand across all industries, so too does the demand for an already limited talent pool. The companies that are proactively assessing skills gaps, skills requirements, and actioning recruiting plans are setting themselves up for greater success,” shares Heloise St Pierre, Assistant Vice President, Technology, Robert Half Canada.

2025 hiring plans for the tech industry in Canada

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What are Canada tech industry leaders' hiring priorities and challenges in the first half of 2025? Our Robert Half Canada survey* found that:

54 per cent are hiring for new permanent roles

41 per cent are hiring for vacated permanent roles

In the first half of this year, 40 per cent of technology and IT professionals** are currently seeking or planning to seek new opportunities, while an additional 41 per cent are open to the right opportunity.

This provides employers in the tech industry in Canada with an excellent chance to hire for tech jobs and expand their teams, but recruiting skilled tech talent will require a competitive compensation package, flexible work options and career development opportunities.

Read more insights on technology roles in highest demand in our latest Demand for Skilled Talent in Tech blog.

Future-forward tech teams need future-forward leaders, too. Engaging in continuous learning, staying informed about industry trends, participating in professional networks, getting managers hands-on with the same technologies they want employees to master, and seeking feedback and mentorship are a few actions leaders can take to invest in themselves — and set an example for their team.

With Robert Half’s new report providing a guide to the 2025 tech industry in Canada, employers and companies will have a direct guide to creating a bulletproof strategy for tackling risks, skill gaps, and talent.

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Sources:

*Robert Half survey of more than 220 Canadian technology leaders at the director level or above.

**Robert Half survey of more than 340 technology professionals in Canada.

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