Where the jobs are (Part 2)

Credit to Author: Staff Writer| Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2022 14:21:28 +0000

Opportunities await skilled immigrants across Canada, but do your research to learn which province or territory is right for you and your career

Canada is a big country — 10 provinces from coast to coast and three territories with many vibrant cities and towns featuring diverse populations, and unique cultures, histories and local economies. For a skilled immigrant in Canada, the choices are numerous and the career opportunities aplenty.

Dr. Stephen Akinkunmi, a physician from Nigeria, chose Windsor, Ontario, as his first stop in Canada for him and his young family in 2015. Like many immigrants, they chose a city where they already knew someone from back home.

Wanting to hit the ground running, Akinkunmi had already started studying for the medical certification exam in Canada. Unfortunately, he didn’t pass the costly exam on his first try.

With the help of a low-interest career loan from Windmill Microlending, a national not-for-profit organization focused on helping skilled newcomers reach their career goals, Akinkunmi was able to pay to take the test again and passed. “A friend who was a fellow doctor from Nigeria, told me about Windmill, and I got a loan of $10,000 to help cover my exam costs,” he says. “I know it’s scary to add an additional burden by having debt, but in the end, it’s worth it. Without it, I wouldn’t be back in my field practising medicine.”

Now, with certification in hand and his career prospects looking good, Akinkunmi and his family decided that while Canada was their forever home, Windsor was not. With a strong demand for physicians across the country — even before the pandemic — Akinkunmi headed west to Quesnel, B.C., which was recruiting family doctors at the time.

Since the onset of the pandemic, demand for doctors, nurses and other health care workers has risen in every province and every community in the country, according to Windmill’s Trending Jobs Report.

Learn more about trending jobs in every part of Canada through Windmill’s Trending Jobs Reports. 

Professionals in IT, accounting, education and skilled trades are also in high demand in different parts of the country. But not all provinces and regions have equal demand for every profession. And there are many other factors to consider when choosing a province to call home.

“A good place to start is learning what sectors are hiring and what employers are most in need of talent,” says Shawn McCarty, manager of key partnerships at Windmill. “Then come other factors like cost of living and requirements for working in your profession.”

Take the example of Toronto and Vancouver, where housing is among the most expensive in Canada. “The cost of living is sky high, but urban areas are where you’re going to find the highest density of jobs,” he says.

It’s also where you’ll find the most competition. “Those who are willing to move to other communities or other provinces with a bigger shortage of workers, less stringent regulatory requirements and less competition can be a huge asset for skilled immigrants,” says McCarty.

“For example, for a pharmacist, the licensing process in Alberta compared to Manitoba is very different. Someone going through the licensing process in Manitoba will only need to invest a fraction of the time that they would to obtain the same qualification in Alberta.”

Jobs from west to east

So, what province is right for you and your professional background? Windmill’s Trending Jobs Report offers some helpful insights.

If you’re interested in moving west like Dr. Akinkunmi, B.C. is seeing steady job growth, with unemployment remaining below the national average, despite the unprecedented economic impacts caused by the pandemic and recent major weather events.

Currently, there are labour shortages for teacher assistants, finance and payroll administrators, transport truck drivers, IT programmers and systems analysts. There are also opportunities in mining, specifically for underground production and development miners.

Next door in Alberta, research points to a growing need for construction and skilled trades jobs, heavy equipment operators and truck drivers, pharmacists, as well as social, community and family services professionals.

“In Alberta, during the pandemic, we saw one of the worst downturns in that province’s history but the rebound has been quick and the economic recovery is quite strong. It’s still largely a resource extraction economy, so if you’re in an oil, gas or energy adjacent career, this is still the best place to look for opportunities in Canada,” says McCarty.

Moving toward the centre of Canada to Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while health care is in demand, the bigger need is agriculture and natural resources processing.

In Ontario, the economy is quickly rebounding and growth is expected in several sectors. “I’d highlight finance, IT, organizational HR, construction and building maintenance as growing areas in Canada’s largest province, as well as continued demand in health care,” says McCarty.

Quebec’s outlook is similar to Ontario’s, certainly in the area of health care demand, but also counts supply chain management as a growing need.

Hospitality and tourism are big in the Atlantic provinces, but it’s also a marine economy. “For things like boating, fishing and shipping, this is the place to be,” says McCarty. “You’ll also find growing opportunities in IT, as well.”

Finally, a move up north to the territories might be the right fit for some newcomers, especially those in construction as well as natural resource extraction and production careers.

Choices abound for skilled immigrants

With so many possibilities across the country, skilled immigrants can face what McCarty calls “choice paralysis.”

He explains: “You might be asking yourself what opportunities should I be looking for and where should I be looking? Should I recertify in my profession or look for a related occupation that may have a shorter barrier of entry? What is the correct path for me? It’s rare that there’s just a single option.”

McCarty advises skilled immigrants to do their research. “This is where you may want to get the help of career development services or a career coach like we have at Windmill to help set you on the path to career success in the Canadian province of your choice,” he says.

Keep following The Immigrant Career Planning Guide to read our upcoming articles on leveraging your career possibilities in Canada through training, upskilling, networking and more.

The Immigrant Career Planning Guide presented by Windmill Microlending shares how newcomers can reach their full career potential by taking advantage of in-demand areas and employment opportunities across Canada. Whether you’re just starting your career, looking to move up, or retrain for a new field, growing opportunities await you. Now is the time to accelerate your career in Canada. Windmill’s Career Success and Planning Centre offers tools, tips and online digital resources to help skilled immigrants and refugees reach their professional goals, sooner. Visit windmillmicrolending.org to take the next step in your career, today.

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