If you’ve tried to hire or retain skilled IT staff lately you’ve felt the Vancouver Island IT talent crunch: great people are scarce, salaries are climbing, and competition is fierce. The result is stalled projects, overloaded internal teams, and more risk than most small and mid-sized organizations can afford.
This post explains why the shortage persists in B.C. and how NCI Technical helps Island businesses stay secure and productive with enterprise-grade expertise without constant recruiting headaches.
Why it’s so hard to hire (and keep) IT pros on Vancouver Island
1. Demand keeps outpacing supply.
Canada added more tech-talent jobs (66,600) in 2024 at a faster rate (5.9%) than the U.S. according to CBRE. Source
2. B.C.’s labour gap isn’t closing soon.
The 2024 B.C. Labour Market Outlook forecasts long-term shortages across high-skill, digital and technical occupations especially outside the Lower Mainland. Source
3. Cybersecurity is critically understaffed.
Canada’s cybersecurity workforce gap is significant. About one in six cybersecurity jobs go unfilled. Source
4. Even when you hire, retention is tough.
Region-specific job-opening data show thousands of positions on Vancouver Island/Coast alone that must be filled in the next decade. Source
5. Bigger hubs draw Island talent away.
Major tech markets continue drawing experienced professionals with higher wages, deeper talent pools and remote options – making smaller markets like ours more competitive. Source
What this means for Vancouver Island businesses
The talent gap creates longer hiring cycles, higher costs, and greater operational risk. A single departure can leave critical systems unsupported, delaying innovation and stretching already thin teams.
How NCI Technical fills the gap
NCI Technical, based in Nanaimo, is built for organizations that want top-tier capability without big-city overhead. We extend and strengthen your existing IT through a practical mix of services.
Co-managed IT that multiplies your team
Already have internal IT? Perfect. We handle the heavy lifting – network hardening, patching, backups, and monitoring – so your staff can focus on strategy. Coverage scales with your workload.
Fractional leadership
Gain senior-level guidance on budgets, roadmaps, and risk governance without hiring full-time executives. NCI helps small and medium sized Vancouver Island businesses prioritize initiatives that reduce risk and deliver ROI.
Cybersecurity as a practice, not a product
With Canada’s cyber skills shortage, smaller teams need a partner combining process, tooling, and people. We deliver MFA, least privilege, EDR/XDR, and incident readiness aligned to your risk profile. Source
Cloud and AI enablement
From Azure and Microsoft 365 to secure data sharing and AI-driven productivity, we help your team work faster, safer – with cost control built in.
Island-first support with enterprise discipline
We’re close enough to be on-site quickly, and experienced enough to provide 24×7 monitoring, SLAs, and documentation – reliability with local agility.
Ready to de-risk your roadmap?
If talent scarcity has slowed your projects or stretched your team, NCI Technical can help you move faster, safer and more predictably – right here on Vancouver Island.
Let’s talk about your goals and build a plan that fits.
