March 20, 2017 Leave a Comment

Job in Demand: the growing Information, Communications and Technology sector in Canada

In recent years it has become clear to policy makers and employers that there will soon be an unmet demand for skilled technology workers in Canada. Presently, the ICT (information and communications technology) sector is worth $741 billion per year, and employs almost 900,000 professionals throughout all sectors the economy.

A March 2016 report by the Canadian Information and communications technology Council (ICTC), titled Digital Talent: Road to 2020 and Beyond projected that by 2020, there will be a huge growth of the size of the global Internet of Things (IoT) economy, which could exceed $19 trillion. The term “The Internet of Things” describes the economic activity surrounding smart and connected technologies – which has wide impact, including on industries or sectors such as manufacturing, financial services, health, transportation, essential services and cities, as well as media and creative industries. The report describes Canada’s adoption rate of these technologies as still lower than other similar economies worldwide, mostly because of a lack of enough skilled workers with the necessary technological skills to enable companies to keep up.

The ICTC report describes that “the growth in digital jobs has outpaced the overall economy in the last two years by over 4 to 1, leading to a strong demand of 182,000 skilled ICT workers by 2019”, saying that “unfortunately, the domestic supply of ICT graduates and workers will be insufficient to meet this demand” It calls for engagement of “all available talent, including women, youth, immigrants, Indigenous persons and persons with disabilities” as critical in mitigating the talent shortage.

What skills are in demand?

The report outlines the knowledge and skills required by employers, including a balance between technical, professional and personal skills:

Technical Skills Business and Management Skills:

Data management and analytics • Network security • Cloud computing content, design, and service management • Java • Python • Mobile and software development

Business and Management Skills:

General Business Acumen • Business Analysis • Sales and marketing • Product management • Creativity and innovation • Leadership

Soft and Interpersonal Skills:

Communication (public speaking and writing) • Collaboration (virtual and in-person) • Adaptability • Cross-cultural competence and sensitivity

What jobs will be needed and where?

Specifically, the report predicts that the finance and health care sectors will have the highest demand for ICT labour in the next four year, specifically:

information systems analysts and consultants
computer network operators and web technicians
computer programmers and interactive media developers
software engineers
graphic designers and illustrators
computer and information systems managers
database analysts and data administrators.

Solutions?

Interestingly, the report claims that many Canadian youth are opting out of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses. The report recommends that the provinces make computer science mandatory in the education curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 12, to and nurture:

Computational thinking (with or without devices) for students in early grades
Coding for students in intermediate grades
Application development, networking, and cyber security for students in advanced grades
Experiential learning opportunities such as co-ops or apprenticeships
Information about career paths and occupational roles that require computer science.

It also recommends “upskilling” the existing workforce, through:

Understanding the barriers to full participation (such as wage gaps) in the ICT field by women, immigrants, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and visible minorities
Sharing best practices in the area of diversity and inclusion
Establishing targets and an action plan to attract and retain underrepresented persons in the ICT field.

The report also calls for government to work harder to attract “global digital talent” and strengthen “digital literacy and digital skills for Canadians”, as well as work on “developing a comprehensive strategy that supports the transition of displaced workers into high demand jobs in the digital economy”.

In response to this report, the federal government has recently announced of a new pilot “Global Talent” project which aims to bring in more highly skills workers to Canada.

January 18, 2016 Leave a Comment

Thoughts on the impact of Syrian refugee resettlement on the local job market

As Syrian refugees started arriving in Canada in significant numbers in late December last year, a reader of this blog posed an interesting question about the impact of the influx on the Toronto job market. Anyone who is on social media might have noticed, as I have recently, that these concerns are coming up often in response to news articles about refugees. Sometimes the questions or comments are genuine and curious, and other times they are expressed in angry and even racist tones. Putting aside the irrational fears and anger that cannot be allayed no matter what, concerns that such newcomers might increase competition for jobs and resources are reasonable issues to consider. However, based on my experience working with refugees and my research, I have concluded that this is a largely unsubstantiated concern.

Right now, given the complexity of the issue, there is so much that we really do not know well yet and will probably not be able to project accurately, for a while:

We don’t know exactly how many refugees are arriving in each region of the country and how it may impact each region differently
We don’t know where they will settle – in which cities and towns in each region
We don’t know the skills, education and professions the refugees will be bringing
We are unsure about their English language skills and how much ESL schooling they might need

What do we know?

We do know that the refugees will be settling widely across Canada, with only a couple of thousand anticipated in Toronto. So, with an existing 225,000 Torontonians currently unemployed, the addition of what are probably less than one percent should not have too jarring an impact on competition for local jobs.

We also know that immigrants (keeping in mind that despite arriving as refugees, people will be leaving the airport with their Permanent Residency in hand) tend to do well, with most finding work. The data does show, however, that unemployment levels are a little higher for newcomers in their first five years. Anecdotally, my experience with helping immigrants find work has been that they are often more willing to take lower paid jobs, in an attempt to gain any kind of local experience.

We also know that Syrians are often well-educated, but most will need language training before they are able to compete in the job market, so any impact on the market will not be immediate.

Finally, and probably most impactful, the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments are investing significant funds in services for this population. So, it is likely that there will be new jobs created. These might be in translation, ESL teaching, settlement, public health, housing and any other non-profit services in which various government levels and bodies are investing (those services can be found on the city of Toronto new website dedicated to help link Syrian newcomers to services). For example, enterprising job seekers who speak Arabic (especially Syrian dialects), and search for jobs online in which the language is required, might find interesting opportunities.

Overall, my sense of this is that the arrival of refugees will most likely bring net gains to the economy. Of course, we have to wait and see. There are sure to be challenges, but my and others’ sense is that this will not impact negatively on local competition for jobs.

December 28, 2015 4 Comments

Canadian Employers’ Hiring Projections for early 2016

With 2015 being a rough and unpredictable year for Canadian job seekers and employers, it is reassuring to hear Michelle Dunnill, Manpower Area Manager for Toronto, Mississauga and Markham, in the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, describe the prospects for hiring in the first quarter in 2016:

“We are seeing some positive signs for Canadian job seekers, with overall employment in the country surpassing 18 million for the first time”

Manpower, who produce quarterly report on employers’ hiring intentions, sounded cautiously optimistic when looking ahead to the first quarter of 2016 in Canada.

Based on a survey of 1,900 employers across the country, the agency report that:

9 percent of employers plan to increase hiring
81 percent planning to keep staffing levels the same
3 percent were unsure
7 percent were planning to cut back on staff

In terms of sectors, the agency found the following:

The strongest hiring prospects were from employers in the Transportation & Public Utilities, with Net Employment Outlook of 15 per cent
Manufacturing – Durables anticipate a Net Employment Outlook of 12 percent, above last quarter’s predictions
Construction jobs were viewed positively, also expecting a Net Employment Outlook of 12 percent.
Wholesale & Retail Trade employers projected a Net Employment Outlook of 11 percent
Public Administration employers report upbeat hiring plans for the next quarter, reporting a similar Net Employment Outlook, at 11 per cent.
Services jobs were expected to remain favourable, with a Net Employment Outlook of 10 percent
Employers in Finance, Insurance & Real Estate reported a Net Employment Outlook of seven percent, which is lower than the last quarter
Manufacturing – Non Durables reported a Net Employment Outlook of four per cent, which is similar the previous quarter and represents a decrease of a percentage point over last year’s reported outlook
Employers in the Education sector were less optimistic, expecting only limited hiring opportunities of a Net Employment Outlook of three per cent, which is a percentage point decrease from last quarter, as well as a decrease of 4 percentage points from the same quarter last year.
The Mining sector projected a lower hiring pace for the first quarter of 2016, with a Net Employment Outlook of 9 percent – 6 percentage point decrease compared to last quarter, and a considerable drop of 15 percentage points from the outlook reported for the same time last year.

In terms of provincial hiring expectations, the breakdown was as follows:

Atlantic Canada was most optimistic, with a Net Employment Outlook of 10 per cent.
Ontario employers anticipated a mild hiring climate, reporting 8 percent
Western Canada projected 7 percent, and
Quebec projected 5 percent.

Finally, divided by company sizes:

Employers in medium-sized companies projected the most positive hiring prospects for this quarter, with an outlook of 14 percent
Large-sized employers (250+ employees) also anticipate a positive hiring climate with an outlook of 13 percent
Small organizations report an “ambiguous” Outlook of 4 percent, and
Employers in “microsized” organizations (19 employees) project an outlook of only 3 percent for the upcoming quarter.

[This data, titled The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is updated on a quarterly basis]

November 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

Ask the Employment Specialist: Signs of being fired

Dear Joanna,

I have a feeling that I will soon be fired. I’ve been working at this company for 10 years, am a top performer, meeting all my targets and have received only positive feedback from my manager. However, I am being excluded from a major “change management” project that was recently implemented here, without any explanation.

Can you point me at some possible signs that I should be looking out for at my workplace that would indicate that I might be out of a job soon?

Signed: Fear of the Unknown (FOTU)

Dear FOTU

The best advice regarding the “telltale signs” that the pink slip may be coming is from Paul Michael’s blog, WiseBread. Below, you’ll find a long list of questions you can ask yourself. If can answer “yes” to at least three or more of the questions, you might be on the “chopping block” and it’s time to look for another job:

Are you finding that you are suddenly being left out of the loop? If you used to know what was going on in your firm, and now you have to learn company news from outside sources, it’s time to move on.
Did you recently make a huge mistake? Did you lose money for the company or team? Only you can decide if you messed up. If you know, HR knows. Michael calls this the “final nail in your coffin.”
Do people seem to be avoiding you at all costs, no longer doing that fun small talk in the halls or at lunch, whispering around you, and avoiding eye contact?
How well did your last performance review go? Does it read like a train wreck?
Has your company recently been sold or merged? This is rarely good news for about 90% of the staff. Being sold means new management, and they often have new plans for the company that include cutbacks and layoffs.
Are you being given impossible jobs that seem to have little or no chance of success? This is a very popular action, although underhanded. The company may need a big reason to give you the boot, especially if you’ve done everything right and are the life and soul of your department — enter the impossible task.
Are your responsibilities shrinking to the point where you now have less responsibility than the intern?
Has your office, cubicle or working space recently been down-sized?
Do you get a sense that people are talking about you — whispering more around you, or changing the topic as you approach?
Did your recently receive a pay freeze or, worse still, a pay cut?
Have you seen a job posting for your company that matches your job description?
Does it seem like everyone really dislikes you?
Have you recently been asked to take some time off?
Are you noticing that more communication between you and your superiors is being conducted on paper or email, thereby leaving a clear paper-trail?
Are you finding it almost impossible to get approval or ‘buy in’ on projects that your propose?
Have you recently been asked to work on a “special project”?
Are your successes and accomplishments being glossed over or taken for granted?
Are you currently being ‘retrained’ or have you been told to take coaching sessions?
Has your immediate boss or mentor quit or been terminated?
Have you recently been promoted to a position of less responsibility?

If you find that you have answered “Yes” to 3 or more of these questions, it my be time to move on, regardless. These experiences can seriously impact on your day-to-day experience on a job — it may be time to find an employer where you are appreciated more and where you can start enjoying your work better.

Joanna

April 20, 2015 Leave a Comment

Find Work in a sector you enjoy: Jobs in Sports

Do you love sports? Would you love to work in an environment with others who share your passion for hockey, soccer, basketball, track and field, horse racing or other sports?

The sports sector in Toronto is very large and most of those who work in it are not athletes or broadcasters. When I performed a search through jobs posted under the keyword “sports” on Simply Hired Canada, I found over 5000 varied jobs in the sector, including Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Inside Sales, Staging, and Bookkeeping. If I put the word “hockey” into that search, almost 1000 jobs appeared bars, hockey leagues, sports arenas, fundraising and even banking, web development and construction.

In addition to looking for jobs on aggregators like SimplyHired or Indeed, there are a few specialized sports job boards, including the following:

The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) is a well established Canadian not-for-profit organization, which provides a range of supports and information for people in the sports sector, including a listing of jobs with sports related employers .

SportsHiring.com, a division of Cosmos Sports, a sports marketing company, is a North American site which describes itself as providing “one of the industry’s most comprehensive sports job and internship listings“.

TeamWork Online is a North America wide service, who describe themselves as offering “ the most advanced and integrated suite of recruiting tools and industry networks“, including most large sport franchises.

Many of the sports franchises and related employers post jobs on their sites, such as:

The National Hockey League (NHL)
Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) — which includes The Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto FC, Raptors and Marlies
Stadiums such The Rogers Centre and The Air Canada Centre (ACC)

Bottom line:

Sometimes just being in an environment that you enjoy can make a bit difference. If you really want to work in the sports sector, you don’t need to be an athlete — identify your ideal employers and look for jobs with those companies that match your skills.