Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Hot Careers in Calgary (and Alberta)

Even though the pace of employment growth in Alberta has slowed somewhat, the province is still the fastest growing job market in Canada. I was researching the Alberta labour market recently and found out that careers in health and retail are very hot these days. Here is a list of the most in-demand occupations in Alberta.


1. Construction Workers

The demand for construction workers will be strong for the foreseeable future. In addition to the the province of B.C, Alberta will have a major shortage of skilled people in all construction trades, specially with British Columbia attracting a lot of tradesmen for the construction of the 2012 Winter Olympics venues.

A significant number of workers are from Europe, and Alberta is competing with other provinces to attract these people for it's booming oil and gas sector. The most common trades -- carpentry, pipe-fitting, welding, drywall, and foundations -- are all still in very high demand and will be for the foreseeable future.

2. Nursing

With a growing population of old people and the provincial government spending more in the health care sector, nurses have become one of the most in-demand employees in Alberta. Alberta has a special recruitment bureau under the province's ministry of health, and they have traveled to the United States and Europe to recruit nurses. A handsome salary and flexible schedules are few of the perks that Alberta offers to it's nurses.

3. Information and Communications Technology

Although the Information Technology sector has seen some shrinkage in the past few years, there are still many opportunities in this area, specially as increasing number of small businesses are implementing and upgrading technologies in their workplace and are in need of experts who can handle the computer networks and telecommunication infrastructure that they have. The IT occupations are expected to grow between 2-5 percent in the next few years.

4. Accountants

With tough new regulation of the financial industry by the government, the need for charterered accountants and compliance experts has increased. Again, the demand is being fueled mostly by oil and gas companies.

5. Protective Services

The Calgary Police Services and the Calgary Fire department have launched a huge recruiting campaign across North America and the U.K, because of a serious shortage of police officers and EMS/paramedic personnel.

6. Power Line Technicians

A journeyman power line technician is one of the highest paying occupations these days. According to one career adviser, even apprentices can earn six figure salaries. As the population grows and more electricity transmission lines are being put in, there is no shortage of work and the prospect is long-term.

7. Truck Drivers

With the rise in transportation of goods and equipment across Alberta, truck drivers are in high demand. From hauling gravel and cement to transporting the famous Alberta beef, trucking is a rapidly growing business in the heart of the new west.

8. Teachers

With an ever increasing student population, the need for teachers and educational instructors will be high for a long time to come.


In addition to the above mentioned jobs, careers in Engineering, Retail, Financial services, Health care, and Sales are emergent. You can get more information at the Employment Alberta site.

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