British Columbia's technology sector appears to have weathered the global downturn and expects to create more than 3,000 new jobs in 2012, according to a new survey from the B.C. Technology Industry Association.

The group's bi-annual TechTalent B.C. survey showed the industry expects a five per cent growth in jobs this year with demand highest for software and hardware engineers, customer support staff, sales and marketing staff and technical managers.

"This robust job growth shows the resilience of B.C.'s technology sector," said BCTIA president Bill Tam. "Our industry has added back all of the jobs lost in the downturn and has returned to peak employment levels. We're now ready to set the course for the next decade, driving new records for industry employment and revenues."

Though the survey did not break down job growth by regions, Greater Victoria is expecting to see a five per cent increase in jobs within its own tech sector in 2012, according to the Victoria Advanced Technology Council.

"Between 650 and 700 new jobs would be a reasonable estimate," said Dan Gunn, executive director of VIATeC. He noted those positions would be at private hightech companies and would not include technical and scientific positions within government.

Last year, Statistics Canada reported the sector added 3,700 positions though that included scientific and technical positions within government and the private sector.

VIATeC estimates there are about 13,000 workers at 900 private technology firms in the region.

"Activity in the sector remains high and companies are still looking to recruit - the biggest challenge to growing a company in Victoria remains finding talent," said Gunn.

The BCTIA survey, which had just 179 responses from the 4,706 sent out to 2,993 companies, reported the tech sector saw a 12 per cent increase in jobs last year between September 2010 and September 2011.

The jobs in highest demand reflect the improved outlook since the economic downturn in late 2008, according to the BCTIA. After a strong focus on sales during the recession, companies are now increasing research and development and customer support.