Province says it’s on track to triple the number of tech workers by 2030.
A new Innovation Saskatchewan report shows the province is set to exceed its growth goal to triple employment in the tech sector by 2030.
According to data shared Tuesday at a press conference held by the government innovation agency in Saskatoon, employment in the province’s tech sector has grown nearly 109 percent to 5,489 workers from 2019 to 2023. Between 2016 and 2023 the tech sector accounted for 10 percent of all new jobs created in the province, more than mining and manufacturing despite those sectors being larger.
From 2016 to 2023, the number of tech companies in Saskatchewan grew more than 28 percent to 347.
The Saskatchewan tech sector has added 715 jobs on average annually since 2016, which would put the province on pace to exceed its target of adding 7,893 jobs by 2030.The report also found that workers in tech had an average compensation between $82,857 and $87,896, significantly higher compared to the average of $65,075 for all workers in the province.
“This substantial growth in the province’s tech sector is a direct result of government and industry working collaboratively to support innovative technologies,” said Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan.
“The report highlights how Saskatchewan has developed a business-friendly tech ecosystem that is accelerating new technologies, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and creating new employment opportunities,” he said.
In 2020, the province unveiled a 10-year growth plan with goals to build a stronger economy by growing Saskatchewan’s population of 1.1 million to 1.4 million and adding 100,000 jobs. Premier Scott Moe said at the time that technology and innovation would be the “catalyst” to grow its core sectors and diversify the economy.
From 2016 to 2023, the number of tech companies in Saskatchewan grew more than 28 percent to 347, but business creation slowed between 2019 and 2023 as the province saw just 14 new companies, an increase of 4.2 percent.
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Revenue data of the tech sector was only available from 2016 to 2022, just before the bottom fell out for tech companies as interest rates and inflation increased. Software companies’ revenues grew 187.1 percent in that time period from $51.2 million CAD to $147 million CAD. Profit margins declined nearly 42 percent in 2022, which could suggest there was an increase in startups raising capital to focus on scaling over profitability.
Revenues of software development and computer services firms grew 61.6 percent from $432.2 million CAD in 2016 to $698.5 million CAD in 2022. Profit margins in the subsector fell from nearly 15 percent in 2016 to 11 percent in 2022.
Venture capital investment in Saskatchewan reached a high in 2021 at $210 million CAD and fell to $37 million CAD last year, lower than the $114 million CAD in 2019.
In April the provincial government doubled the cap of the startup investor tax credit to $7 million CAD and since the beginning of the year, the federal government has invested nearly $9 billion CAD in Saskatchewan’s tech ecosystem. In May, the CEO of Conexus Credit Union told BetaKit that Saskatchewan’s tech industry is ripe for opportunity, which is why the financial institution put in $15 million CAD into its subsidiary’s second technology-focused venture capital fund.
Feature image courtesy Innovation Saskatchewan.
