Labour Market Information for Career Decision Making

B. National Labour Market Information

The Government of Canada produces a wealth of LMI that is accessible to the general public. A few of the resources will be covered here, but for complete lists, visit the labour market information Web site of Human Resources Development Canada http://www.labourmarketinformation.ca/.

Job Futures

Job Futures is an innovative tool developed by HRDC to provide the latest available information about Canada's labour market. It is for anyone interested in the current and future outlooks for work in specific fields, and the links between education/training and the world of work. Career practitioners, post-secondary students, high school students, parents, workers and job seekers can find answers for many of their typical labour market questions.

• What does a Paralegal do?
• Why should I continue my education past high school?
• What can I do with a History degree or a Graphics Arts diploma?
• What education, training or experience do I need to be a Real Estate Agent?
• Where can I take business education/training and how long will it take?
• How does the future look for this occupation?
• What are my chances of getting a job after I graduate from an Electronics Technician program?
• What are the wages for this occupation (or for these recent graduates)?
• If I want to change my job what are my options?
• How much does a graduate from a Civil Engineering program make?

Job Futures Part 1 provides information on about 211 occupational groups including statistical data and descriptive and analytical text. Virtually every item of LMI discussed so far in this book, or that is pertinent to career planning, is included:

• work duties;
• educational background and skills required;
• average employment growth rates;
• gender composition;
• age composition;
• full-time, part-time and self-employment rates;
• number of people employed;
• main industries of employment;
• work prospects;
• trends for the future;
• rates of unemployment;
• related occupations; and
• earnings.

Part 1 also includes a list of industry and occupational organizations, a detailed explanation of what each piece of LMI means and a list of where to find more labour market and career-decision information. Each occupational profile has a direct link to the NOC profile.

Job Futures Part 2 focusses on the link between the educational system and the labour market outcomes for graduates in 155 fields of study at the trade, college/CÉGEP and university levels. The information makes a valuable contribution to education and training decisions, such as choosing the level of education and choosing the actual field of study.

The section "World of Work: Overviews and Trends" highlights the impacts of changes caused by trends in industry, education and labour; points out new and growing occupations and sectors, and the skills that go with them; and explains some of the things that people should consider when making career decisions. Here is where the summary lists of outlooks for all the occupational groups and all the fields of study are found.

Tips on Using Job Futures

• Be careful to note whether the occupation you are looking up is presented as an individual occupation or whether it is part of an occupational group. For example, furniture assembler is part of an occupational group called "Other Assembly and Related Occupations." That means that the average salaries and the outlooks are based on several occupations. The one you are interested in could be lower or higher than the whole group average. However, many occupations are presented individually, such as civil engineer.
• The "National Outlook to 2004" section in each occupational profile also talks about labour market trends affecting that outlook. There are often clues about changes in skills requirements that are happening or about to happen. For instance, the Accounting and Related Clerks profile says good computer skills will be more and more essential because of the increased use of computerized accounting, inventory and billing systems. This can help a client plan a skills upgrading program.
• If a client wants to find work in another industry, the section "Where They Work" can suggest alternative industries. For example, a facility operation manager working in wholesale trade, would find ideas in a list of other industries that hire, such as amusement and recreation services; finance and insurance and real estate; retail trade; storage and warehousing; and air transportation.
• If a client wants to change occupations, "Related Occupations" lists similar occupations to check out. If a client or student wants to know about different program options the "Related Fields of Study" will direct her/him to alternatives.
• Each part of Job Futures has a cross-index. The occupational profiles have a "Field of Study Cross-Index" that gives the major programs from which workers were hired in the occupation. The field of study profiles have and occupational cross-index that directs the user to the major occupations where graduates from that field of study have found work. This information is useful for targeting the job search.

These are just some of the ways career decision-making information can be taken from the labour market information provided by Job Futures. For a complete guide to finding answers to typical client labour market questions see the Job Futures Companion. (Appendix B contains details on the content of each part of Job Futures.)

The national Job Futures is available in book form and on the Internet http://jobfutures.ca/en/home.shtml. The Internet version has a search and compare function that allows users to choose up to five occupations or fields of study and then compare their choice of specific factors, for example earnings, duties, outlooks, etc. Note how this latest feature provides immediate responses to customized requests.