B.C. prepares for over a million job openings in next 10 years

Job openings by major industry group (graphic courtesy of the B.C. Government)

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Job openings by major occupational group (graphic courtesy of the B.C. Government)

The province said that close to 80 per cent of the jobs will require some level of post-secondary education or training. The LMO forecasts that 36 per cent of new openings will require a bachelor’s degree or first professional degree; 29 per cent will need a diploma/certificate excluding apprenticeship; 20 per cent will require high school and/or occupation specific training; 12 per cent will require an apprenticeship certificate; and three per cent will require high school education or less.

Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training, said in order to address these positions opening up, the province is helping offer more training and education spaces.

“I am so proud that we are increasing student spaces in public post-secondary institutions in tech, in health care, in engineering, and more,” said Kang.

“For instance, we’ve added 500 new nursing seats, more than 1,000 new early childhood educator seats, and almost 3,000 tech-related seats set to produce thousands of tech grads in the near future.”

The province also plans to introduce skilled trade certification legislation in the spring.

Kang said these investments shows that British Columbians will have options while moving into the workforce.

“This information helps students, educational institutions, businesses and governments prepare for the future,” said Kang.

She added that making a career move is a big decision, but did note the province is looking to support its workforce by investing in programs to support students.

“Those investments include expanding the tuition waiver for former youth in care; introducing tuition-free adult upgrading; cutting interest on student loans; creating the B.C. Graduate Scholarship program; and expanding open education resources. We have also invested $47.5-million in new funding to help people who are under worked or unemployed up-skill or re-skill and find new opportunities.”

(Image credit: Province of B.C.)

Ravi Kahlon, the Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, added that the economy requires investments in all facets in order to properly grow.

“The economy is the critical need for childcare, the economy is the critical need for housing and infrastructure so that people can move around in their regions,” said Kahlon.

“So (investing in) housing is going to be a critically important part, just like childcare is going to be a critically important part, of our economy as we go forward. And certainly, as we see a need for more people to come and take on the opportunities we have, we’re going to need to see that investment in housing and in child care and in infrastructure to go along with it.”

Kahlon said that historic levels of investments are being made in housing across B.C., but more will be required in the future, adding that they would like to see support from the federal government in that endeavour.

Kang noted that having people be able to move into new jobs, particularly in the construction industry, will help address some of these other economic factors like housing and infrastructure improvements.

The job forecast shows that 48 per cent of the new job openings in the next decade would be filled by young people starting their careers; 34 per cent would be filled by immigrants; eight per cent will be filled by migrants from other provinces; and two per cent will account for a decline in the number of unemployed British Columbians. This leaves an eight per cent supply gap which will need to be addressed.

“We do know that there is a gap in skilled workforce and our future workforce, and we also know that there are approximately 150,000 people who could be working but are not working right now,” said Kang.

“The strategies that we’re looking at is providing the help and support, the programs that they need to come back to the workforce. For example, they may be young parents who cannot find child care, so our provincial daycare strategy will be supporting the wraparound services for young parents to come to come back to the workforce.”

The Lower Mainland is expected to see a majority of those jobs in the next 10 years with 653,2000 openings. The Thompson-Okanagan area is forecast to see the third highest new openings in the province at 115,600 jobs, as 161,500 jobs are expected to open on Vancouver Island economic region.

(Image credit: Province of B.C.)

Kang added that WorkBC, of which there is a new app, is a valuable resource for people looking for work. The tools offered by WorkBC can help people find in-demand jobs in their areas, find regions where there are opportunities in their desired or current fields; and find training programs.

by Liam Verster

B.C. prepares for over a million job openings in next 10 years

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