Tech Salaries in British Columbia Rising to Meet Growing Demand for Tech Talent

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 21, 2016) - Salaries for technology professionals in British Columbia have risen once again, indicated by results from HR Tech Group's annual BC Tech Salary Survey, released today.

Overall, salaries for intermediate technology professionals in British Columbia went up 5.8% from the previous year, according to HR Tech Group's findings. The increase demonstrates that companies are growing and prioritizing retention to keep their employees engaged.

Tech jobs with the highest salary increases include:

• Product Development Managers: up 16.5%
• Sales Managers: up 10.5%
• Senior Animators: up 7.6%

The 2016 BC Tech Salary Survey, conducted for HR Tech Group in partnership with Willis Towers Watson, includes data about 15,904 individual salaries from 112 companies.

"Tech salaries in BC are growing faster than the national average," says Allison Rutherford, Executive Director of HR Tech Group. "In 25 years of conducting the BC Tech Salary Survey we have not seen such large salary increases. This demonstrates what tech companies across the province are experiencing first hand: there is increasing competition for tech talent in BC."

"HR Tech Group's BC Tech Salary Survey has been instrumental in responding to the growing needs of BC's technology sector," said Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services. "Attracting and retaining the best and brightest talent is an important component of the #BCTECH Strategy, and we are thrilled that an increasing number of tech companies recognize that we have the talent and are choosing to open offices in BC."

This year's survey expanded to include British Columbia's growing visual effects/animation industry. Ten major film and/or animation companies took part in survey, including SONY Pictures Imageworks, Industrial Light & Magic and Technicolor's MPC. Some of the highest salaries in that industry include Specialist Lighting Artists and VFX Artists ($105,000/year) and Senior Animators ($93,000/year).

"The VFX/animation sector is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing industries in the BC economy and the increased participation from these firms in the BC Tech Salary Survey proves that," explained Rutherford. "HR Tech Group is pleased to be able to showcase, in detail, how much this industry is thriving and providing high-paying jobs in our province."

While visual effects and animation jobs are finding their place among the top paying jobs in BC, more traditional technology positons in the software industry remain lucrative and also saw steady gains:

• Junior Software Developers (with two to four years of experience) earned an average salary of $75,400/year (up from $73,000 in 2015).
• With four or more years of experience behind them, Senior Software Developers earned an average of $93,900/ year, up 5.4% from the previous year.

A full version of the BC Tech Salary Survey is available for purchase online at hrtechgroup.com. This year, HR Tech Group is also providing the BC Tech Salary Survey for Startups, which is a condensed version of the survey that provides the same in-depth information, but for 10 roles that are crucial to startups. Learn more about both surveys, here.

About the BC Tech Salary Survey

HR Tech Group, in partnership with Willis Towers Watson, releases the annual BC Tech Salary Survey. For more than 20 years this Survey has been the definitive resource for the high tech sector in BC. While the survey is based in BC, the data is relevant for all Canadian high tech markets, with several national and international organizations participating.

About HR Tech Group

HR Tech Group is an association of human resources professionals employed in B.C. tech companies. The group produced the leading BC Tech Salary Survey, and provides new and benchmark data that keeps members up to speed on local business practices in tech. HR Tech Group serves over 150 mid to large member companies in all tech sectors including ICT, film/ VFX, digital media, clean tech and life sciences.