The tech talent shortage in the United States is affecting how companies do business: According to Gartner, 64% of IT executives cite the talent shortage as the number one barrier to adopting emerging technologies. But if you are open to working with remote developers – and you should be – America’s neighbor to the north offers a great alternative to hiring locally. Canada has a mature, well-developed tech scene, with giants like Shopify, Constellation Software, and CGI, Inc. calling Canada their home.
There are a lot of benefits to hiring remote developers. It’s a great way to recruit talent developers faster and more cost effectively than in the United States, and below we explore five reasons you should hire a software developer in Canada.
- Canada is home to some seriously elite talent.
If you’re looking to hire in a market where talent is plentiful and experienced, Canada is the place to go. Home to more than 353,000 computer science professionals, Canada has the world’s fifth largest share of developers in the world. The average Canadian developer has more than 13 years of experience, and 43% hold advanced degrees in computer science. And with so many cultural similarities with the United States and almost no language barrier (more than three-quarters of the population speaks English), it’s easy for Canadian developers to collaborate with their American counterparts.
- Canada has the most educated populace in the world.
Sixty percent of Canada’s population has a post-secondary education, making it the most educated populace in the world. The country boasts over 400 computer science programs at universities nationwide and the Canadian government heavily invests in STEM education, creating a steady stream of new tech talent entering the workforce every year.
- Canadian developers work in the same (or a similar) time zone as your American team.
Asynchronous communication might be at the heart of remote work, but it’s still easier for developers to collaborate when they can get an immediate response from their colleagues. That’s why 80% of engineers prefer to work in a similar time zone with their peers. Canadian time zones line up closely with continental US time zones, so no matter where in Canada your developers are located, it will be easy for them to connect with your American team. Toronto, for example, is on the equivalent of Eastern Time.
- You can hire Canadian developers much faster than you can hire American developers.
Time is of the essence when it comes to hiring. By some estimates, leaving a position vacant can cost your company up to $5000 a day in lost productivity and revenue. In the United States, it takes a whopping 58 days to sign, seal, and deliver a software developer. But Canada, by comparison, has the shortest time-to-hire in the world. Companies in Canada close candidates in about 22 days on average.
- You can expect to pay less in salary and benefits for Canadian developers.
If you’re hiring a developer in the United States, you’ll be paying top dollar for the salaries and competitive benefits packages that job candidates expect – especially in the country’s biggest tech hubs. In Silicon Valley, for example, you’ll pay more for a developer than in any other region in America. But in Canada, businesses can expect to pay less than 50% the salary of a developer in the United States.
Terminal can help you build a team of remote Canadian developers
If you want to build a remote team of elite developers, Canada is the perfect place to concentrate your hiring efforts. But it can be difficult to know how to get started. Terminal hires and retains global talent for fast-growing companies so you don’t have to go it alone: Terminal will support you through every step of hiring and retaining a Canadian team.
“Terminal offered the benefit of being able to quickly build a team without having to worry about building the organizational rubric to support it in Canada. It can be a lot of work to set up to run internationally and [Terminal] took that off our plate,” says Bluescape Founder & CTO Demian Entrekin.
Want to learn more about hiring in Canada? Explore Terminal today.