Your Career Future:
Understanding Employment Patterns in Ontario

Choosing the right career is important. But what is the right career for you?
To answer that question you need to think about:

  • Which careers match your interests and abilities
  • What kinds of education and training you may need
  • Which occupations are most likely to be in demand now and in the future

In today’s fast-moving world, the demand for various skills can change over time. In fact, new occupations often appear while older occupations disappear. Understanding these patterns is an important part of making an informed choice about your career future.

In this section of the website you can learn:

Did you know that in 2008, 6.6 million people were working in Ontario.

52% were male workers

48% were female

81% worked full-time

19% worked part-time

85% were employees

15% were self-employed

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey.

Why do jobs change over time?

Over time, the number and types of jobs available to workers can change for a number of reasons.
The most common reasons are:

Economic growth: A growing economy means more people are working and have more money to spend. Having more customers, in turn, encourages businesses to expand. In the same way, more international trade with customers in other countries also causes business to grow. As a result, new jobs are created in many different occupations.

Technology: Changes in technology can affect both the types of jobs available and the skills that are needed. Computers, for example, have increased the need for software engineers and systems analysts in the workplace, but have also reduced the demand for secretaries and clerks. New technologies can create brand new occupations as well. For example, the growth of the Internet gave birth to the web page designer.

Demographics: Changes in the makeup of the population – such as age, gender and cultural background – can affect the demand for various kinds of skills. A younger population needs more schools and therefore more teachers. An older population requires more health services and therefore more doctors and nurses. In some occupations, there may be many older workers who will retire soon, and create new job opportunities.

Consumer behaviour: People's needs change over time depending on how much money they have, their changing tastes and the amount of leisure time they have. For example, ecotourism is a relatively recent development. Growth in tourist attractions and accommodations has created many jobs in a large number of occupations such as hotel clerks, managers, tour guides, and recreation consultants.
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Which Industry Employ the Most People?

Manufacturing industries:

Manufacturing industries have the largest share of jobs in the goods-producing sector in Ontario. But changes in the manufacturing sector have been reducing the number of manufacturing jobs – from 17.4 percent of all Ontario jobs in 2004 to 13.5 percent in 2008.


Service-producing industries:

The service sector has been growing quickly and employs more than three quarters of all Ontario workers. There are many different kinds of services industries.

The four largest service industries are:

  • Health care and all kinds of social assistance
  • Professional, scientific and technical services
  • Educational services
  • Wholesale and retail trade

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Where are job trends headed in the future?

Economic conditions, technological developments, demographics and consumer behaviour will continue to affect the labour market, the occupational composition, and the kinds of job opportunities that will be available.

However, new job creation is expected to be in occupations requiring considerable education and training. Management skills, which are usually gained through experience following a period of formal education and training, will account for about 9 percent of all new jobs.

In this category, the jobs expected to have the best prospects to 2013 are:

  • Managers in healthcare
  • Computer and Information systems managers

Occupations requiring a university degree are expected to account for 26 percent of new jobs and those with extensive post-secondary but less than university degree requirements will account for 35 percent of new jobs.

The best job prospects within occupations that require university degrees are:

  • Specialist physicians
  • Physiotherapists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Software engineers
  • General practitioners and family physicians
  • Information systems analysts and consultants
  • Pharmacists
  • Civil engineers
  • Social workers
  • Registered nurses.

For occupations with extensive post-secondary but less than university degree requirements, some of the best job prospects are for:

  • Paralegal and related occupations
  • User support technicians
  • Dental hygienists and dental therapists
  • Early childhood educators and assistants
  • Electricians (except industrial and power system)
  • Chefs
  • Plumbers
  • Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics.

Occupations requiring high school and/or occupation-specific training are expected to account for 22 percent of new jobs.  In this category, the jobs expected to have the best prospects to 2013 are:

  • Customer service, information and related clerks
  • Food and beverage servers
  • Truck drivers
  • Heavy equipment operators

The smallest contribution to new jobs - 8 percent - will come from occupations that require only short on-the-job training without a secondary school diploma.

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What new occupations and industries are emerging?

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified a number of new and emerging industry sectors in the economy including:

  • Aerospace
  • Biotechnology in agriculture, forestry, fishing and pharmaceuticals
  • Distance-learning
  • Environment
  • Green energy technologies
  • Health informatics
  • Multimedia, particularly for mobile communications

These new and emerging sectors employ people in many traditional occupations, although the duties for many jobs – and the qualifications required – may change over time. They also employ people in emerging occupations, although the number of available jobs may be quite low.
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What education and skills are needed for today's jobs?

Today, a high school education – and post-secondary education and training – are more important than ever. In fact, as the world changes so quickly, many occupations require that we continue learning throughout our lives.

The education level and skills required for most occupations has increased over time. While there are still many low skill, entry-level occupations, for example, the basic skills required to enter these occupations has increased.

You should know
In addition to job-specific knowledge and skills, employers today look for a broader set of skills – often called employability skills - in all workers. The Conference Board of Canada developed the critical employability skills profile for the Canadian workforce. The profile outlines foundation skills for employability:

  • Academic: provides the foundation for good communication skills, a capacity to analyse, evaluate and solve problems and to learn new assignments and new ways of doing the job when technology changes.

  • Personal management skills: positive attitude, ability to take responsibility and be accountable, ability to deal with changes in the workplace and be innovative, and respect for others.

  • Teamwork skills: the skills needed to work with others on a job and to achieve the best results.

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