News Canada

The 8 biggest future careers in Canada

The jobs landscape in Canada is shifting. As healthcare and technology positions begin to dominate the market, it’s worth asking whether your choice of career will be in demand from Canadian employers in the years to come.

The Global News website recently spoke to Sheryl Boswell, director of marketing at Monster.ca, for her thoughts on the biggest emerging jobs in Canada that today’s students and graduates should be preparing themselves for. Here are her top eight:

Teacher

Average salary: Starting at $50k-$55k

Qualifications required: Bachelor’s degree (BA) in Education

Although competition for teachers is tight in some provinces, Boswell assures that this job will always be in high demand. Both elementary and high school teachers will be needed, but there will be more demand for the latter – with the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba and the Yukon seeing the most demand growth, and Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia seeing the least.

Informatics security analyst

Average salary: Starting at $64k

Qualifications required: BA in Computer Science or related field. Some roles may require a Master’s.

Increasing volumes of data means there’s a greater need for information security. This role requires working with companies to ensure the security of their networks and systems -  so a love for IT is essential. The highest areas of demand will be New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Nunavut, says Boswell.

Market research analyst

Average salary: Starting at $50k

Qualifications required: BA in Market Research, Marketing or Statistics

Markets are always in a state of change, with new competitors constantly entering the arena. Companies need to stay on top of their rivals and their customers, so candidates who are good at analysing and critical thinking will be in healthy demand.

Construction manager

Average salary: Starting at $85k

Qualifications required: University or college education in Construction Management or Civil Engineering

Construction jobs are becoming more complex, technical and sophisticated, meaning that more education is needed for this type of role than before. This job should appeal to natural leaders and those who enjoy being outside; but Boswell recommends this job “with caution,” as although there is a construction boom in Canada right now, this does have the possibility of dying down.

Lawyer

Average salary: Starting at $72k

Qualifications required: BA in Pre-Law, a first-level Law degree and passing the bar exam.

Figures suggest that law school enrolments have been steadily declining since 2010 – by 38%, in fact. But there will always be a need for lawyers, so there will be demand in all fields, including family law, corporate law and criminal defence. Successful candidates will need to be driven, articulate, and have a love of studying.

Registered Nurse

Average salary: Starting at $60k

Qualifications required: BA in Nursing

In a similar vein to law school, Canada has also seen a decline in nursing school enrolment – according to the College of Nurses Ontario, applications across Canada fell by nearly a quarter (23%) between 2010 and 2015. So there is already a high demand for nurses, and this is likely to continue.

Software Developer

Average salary: Starting at $61k

Qualifications required: BA in Computer Science or related field

Jobs within the information technology field are in particularly high demand. With new types of software emerging – for example, gaming software developers weren’t in demand a few years ago – there will be lots of demand for creative IT experts who enjoy design as well as research, development, implementation and testing.

Marketing Manager

Average salary: Starting at $85k

Qualifications required: BA in Marketing, PR, Communications or related field

Competition for this role is likely to become fierce, so the more education you have in this field, the better. Marketing managers focus on strategies to push a company’s product or service; this requires creativity and excellent communication skills. The areas of highest demand will be New Brunswick, Nunavit, P.E.I and Manitoba.

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