Statistics on Canada's Skills Labour Force

There is a shortage in the skilled labour force:

• More than 80% of Canadian technology companies surveyed face a shortage of skilled employees.

To get a job in the skilled labour force, formal training is needed:

• Approximately 72% of the some 1.3 million new jobs expected to be created over the 1999 to 2004 time period will generally require some form of post-secondary training.
• 32% of the new jobs created will be in in occupations generally requiring community college diploma or certificate.

Skilled employees get the jobs:

• While the overall labour market is expected to see slightly fewer new job openings than the number of graduates, many trades are seeing more jobs than grads. It is forecasted that the number of jobs will exceed the number of new job seekers in areas including:
  • Plumbers, Pipefitters and Gas Fitters
  • Bakers who complete apprenticeship programs
  • Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies
• Almost 75% of all new and replacement jobs created between 2001 and 2008 will require some form of education or training beyond high school. Of these, 50% require non-university post-secondary completion.
• A 1997 study by Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology found that 79% of students graduating from technologies and trades were employed in careers related to their studies three years later.
• A 1997 Information Technology Survey by Angus Reid found that 54% of technology companies in Canada have employment opportunities that remain unfilled for up to three months.