Posted on December 06 2022

Canada Job trends - Optical Communication Engineers, 2023-24

By
Anshul Singhal
, Editor

Updated February 23 2024

Why work in Canada as an Optical Communication Engineer?

4% rise in demand for Optical communication Engineers in 2023
Average salary of an Optical Engineer in Canada is CAD 83,308.8
There is huge requirement for Optical Engineers in Canada in the coming years
BC offers highest pay of CAD 103,392 for Optical Engineers
Optical Communication Engineers can migrate to Canada through 9 pathways

*Check your eligibility to Canada through Y-Axis Canada immigration points calculator

About Canada

Canada has been continuously modifying and updating its immigration target based on the new immigration levels plans for 2022-2024 to attract more immigrants. With the current rate of immigration, more than 470,000 immigrants will be landing in Canada by 2022. The Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser has been working on a new pathway for Temporary workers to become Permanent which is called the TR-to-PR pathway. Thousands of foreign workers are searching for a job in Canada to immigrate through hundreds of immigration pathways provided by the Canadian government. Canada has proposed to welcome 1.5 newcomers by 2025. Canada has issued an immigration plan and the number of candidates to be invited from 2023 to 2025 is mentioned. In the table below

Year	Immigration Levels Plan
2023	465,000 permanent residents
2024	485,000 permanent residents
2025	500,000 permanent residents

Job Trends in Canada, 2023

Canadian businesses are in dire need of employees to fill in their unoccupied job as there are no Canadian residents or Canadian citizens to fill up those. Around 40% of businesses in Canada are facing severe workforce shortages. Hence the country is looking to bring foreign workers who can be an asset in the country’s economy by immigrating with the currently available economic immigration pathways, provided their occupation must be listed in the workforce shortages. Some of the provinces are planning to double their immigration allocations. Usually, the vacancies are calculated based on the number of vacant jobs which corresponded with total labor demand. Yet the job vacancies rate is all-time high even in the second quarter which is 5.7%. The average hourly wages for almost all sectors have increased by 5.3% by the second quarter of 2021. Currently, the average hourly wage is CAD 24.05. Therefore the rise varies from the hourly average wages of all the employees rose by 4.1%.

Optical Communication Engineers, NOC Code (TEER code)

Optical communication engineers also called Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) research, design, plan, develop, modify, integrate and modify computer and telecommunications hardware and related equipment. They also work on information and communication system networks that include local & wide area networks, mainframe systems, fiber-optic networks, intranets, wireless communication networks, and many other data communication systems. The optical communication Engineers will be employed by computer and telecommunication hardware manufacturers, manufacturing and telecommunication firms, engineering firms, even information and technology consulting firms, educational and research institutions, governmental organizations, and in the information technology units either by private or public sectors. The NOC code five-digit code for Optical communication engineer is 21311 as per the new updated NOC 2021 codes. 2016, NOC code is 2147.

Roles and responsibilities of Optical Communication Engineers

Must be telecommunications hardware engineers.
Must analyse the user requirements. Design, develop and improve the system architecture and the specifications.
One of the other responsibilities is to research, design, develop and integrate the hardware of computers and telecommunication like integrated circuit boards, semiconductor lasers, and microprocessors.
Develop and perform simulations on designs and bench tests on the components of the prototype.
Have to supervise, examine and give design support for the manufacturing, installation, and implementation of computer and telecommunications hardware.
Must have healthy relationships with the clients and the suppliers.
Sometimes might lead and coordinate the engineers, technicians, drafters, and technologists in the design & development team of computer and telecommunication hardware.
These engineers might specialize in several areas that include analog and digital signal processing, microwaves, radio astronomy, and fiber optics.
Be a network system and data communication engineer.
Research, prepare, develop and integrate data communication hardware and software as also communication system network architecture.
Evaluate, document, and enhance the networks of information and communication system capacity and performance.

Also read…

Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada Seeing Pay Hikes

Canada has a million job vacancies to fill as on April 2022

Prevailing wages of Optical Communication Engineers in Canada

Usually, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Alberta have a frequent requirements for optical communication engineers. The optical engineer’s regular average hourly wage is very high in most provinces ranging from CAD 34.60 to CAD 53.85 per hour. This range of wages per hour varies between provinces and territories. To get a job as an Optical communication engineer, one must know the requirement in each province and the corresponding wages that are offered.

Community/Area	Average Wages per annum
Canada	83,308.8
British Columbia	103,392
Manitoba	84,921.6
New Brunswick	66,432
Newfoundland and Labrador	66,432
Nova Scotia	66,432
Ontario	89,145.6
Quebec	88,608

Eligibility criteria for Optical Communication Engineers

Optical Communication Engineers need a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering, Electronic or Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Engineering in Physics.
A Master’s Degree or Doctoral degree in any engineering discipline.
A License from a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is needed to approve the engineering drawings and the reports and to practice as a P.Eng. (Professional Engineer).
The engineers are eligible for registration by completing graduation from any accredited educational institutional program, 3-4 years of supervised work experience in engineering, and clearing a professional practice examination.

Location	Job title	Regulation	Regulatory body
Alberta	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta
British Columbia	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia
Manitoba	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Engineers Geoscientists of Manitoba
New Brunswick	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists
Nova Scotia	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia
Nunavut	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists
Ontario	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Professional Engineers Ontario
Prince Edward Island	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Association of Professional Engineers of Prince Edward Island
Québec	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Saskatchewan	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan
Yukon	Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers And Designers)	Regulated	Engineers of Yukon

Optical Communication Engineers - Number of vacancies in Canada

Currently, Canada has around 112 vacancies across the provinces and territories for Optical Communication Engineers. The list of vacancies is mentioned below in detail.

Location	Available jobs
Alberta	4
British Columbia	6
Canada	56
Manitoba	1
New Brunswick	2
Nova Scotia	6
Ontario	15
Québec	20
Saskatchewan	2

*Note: The number of job vacancies may differ. This is given as per the information on October, 2022. Optical Communication Engineers have different prospects based on their work. Following is the list of titles that come under this occupation.

Computer Hardware Engineer
Fibre-Optic Network Designer
Hardware Circuit board Designer
Network Test Engineer
Systems Designer - Hardware
Wireless Communications Network Engineer
Telecommunications Hardware Engineer
Hardware Development Engineer
Hardware Technical Architect

The Optical Communication Engineers' opportunities for the next 3 years in the provinces and the territories are listed in the following table:

Location	Job prospects
Alberta	Fair
British Columbia	Good
Manitoba	Fair
Newfoundland and Labrador	Good
Nova Scotia	Good
Ontario	Good
Quebec	Good
Saskatchewan	Good

How can Optical Communication Engineers migrate to Canada?

Optical Communication engineers are one of the in-demand occupations in Canada for some of the provinces. To migrate as an engineer, in optical communication in Canada, a foreign worker can apply through FSTP, IMP, and TFWP.

Optical Communication Engineers can migrate to Canada through:

How Y-Axis can helps an Optical Communication Engineers to immigrate to Canada?

Any individual who has plans to work as an Optical Communication Engineer in Canada needs a Canadian work permit. Through work permit candidates are also eligible for applying Canadian PR visa, which allows foreign workers to live, work and settle in Canada. Y-Axis offers assistance to find an Optical Communication Engineer job in Canada with the following services.