College – and not university, high school or on-the-job training – will be providing the biggest bang for the buck when it comes to landing a job in Canada over the next five years.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) figures show that more than a third of the jobs coming up for grabs in the decade ending in 2026 will require a college education.
By comparison, only 23.2 per cent will demand a university degree, diploma or certificate and jobs that workers will be able to get with only a high school diploma will account for only 23.5 per cent of the total. A smidgeon more than one in 10 jobs, at 10.2 per cent, will be in management.
Those relying on on-the-job training will fare the worst, with only about 8.9 per cent of the positions to offer this kind of training.
The best places to get jobs during the next five years come as no surprise given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Canada’s hospitals and clinics. The healthcare sector is the one projected to grow the fastest over the decade ending five years from now.
In order from fastest to slowest, here are the projected growth rates for industry sectors in Canada, as forecast by the federal government:
| INDUSTRY SECTOR | PERCENTAGE GROWTH RATE |
| Health Care | 1.92 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 1.91 |
| Support Activities for Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction | 1.5 |
| Social Assistance | 1.33 |
| Legal, Accounting, Consulting and Other Prof. Services | 1.3 |
| Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | 1.27 |
| Food Services | 1.26 |
| Architectural, Engineering, Design and Research and Development Services | 1.26 |
| Management, Administrative and Other Support Services | 1.19 |
| Aerospace, Rail, Ship and Other Transportation Equipment | 1.09 |
| Air, Rail, Water and Pipeline Transportation Services | 1.09 |
Among the industry sectors faring okay during that decade, barring the current impact of the current Covid-19 global pandemic, are plastic and rubber products, elementary and secondary schools, construction, wholesale trade, finance, insurance, real estate and leasing services, truck and ground passenger transportation services, mining, fabricated metal products and machinery, chemical products, other manufacturing, electric, gas and water utilities, oil and gas extraction, motor vehicles, trailers and parts, primary metals and mineral products, accommodation services, and information, culture and telecommunications services.
Job seekers will have a much harder time landing gainful employment in several sectors projected to contract during the same decade.
The worst-performing sector for those looking for jobs is forecast to be outfitters, those in the fishing, hunting and trapping industries. Also expected to perform poorly are the printing industry, paper manufacturing, the textiles, clothing, leather and furniture sectors – and agriculture.
Woodlot owners were expected to see a contraction in the ESDC’s forecast but the current Covid-19 pandemic has more than doubled the price of wood due to a year-long love affair by do-it-yourselfers undertaking patio-building projects during the lockdowns.
In keeping with trends going back to before the turn of the millennium, high-skilled workers are forecast to have more job opportunities than their less-skilled counterparts. But the lay-offs of low-skilled workers that happened during the decade ending in 2016 are expected to reverse itself with 39,113 new jobs per year created for low-skilled positions in Canada during the decade ending in 2026.
Many of the new jobs will be opened up due to the retirement of Baby Boomers as they age out of the labour force, the ESDC figures reveal.
