A labour market information analyst (LMIA) is located in most Human
Resource Centres Canada (HRCC) and is responsible for information products
related to current local labour market conditions. For example, the
National Common Products (NCP) series provides LMI on current employment
and occupational and industrial trends. The publication categories are
determined by national headquarters and not all HRCCs provide information
in all categories. The information is available on the HRDC Labour Market
Information Service Web site http://lmi-imt.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca.
From the site choose a province to find the provincial HRCC. Publications
in this series useful to those providing career services are:
Occupational Profiles;
Occupational Summaries;
Potential Employers by Occupation;
Training Available by Occupation;
Wages by Occupation;
Industrial Profiles;
Industrial Structure Overview;
Indicators by Occupation of Industry;
Labour Market Review;
Community Profile; and
Newsflash.
In addition to publishing reports, LMIAs act as resource people who
can guide and direct practitioners to other or related sources of LMI.
Where Do You Want to Live?
Answering this question is one of the first things a client needs
to do. For some occupations, geography dictates opportunity. Nevertheless,
it is common to hear of people fleeing the stress of high real
estate costs or big city life to move to a small, rural community
only to find there is no demand for their skills or expertise.
Clients considering relocation should consult the LMI produced
by the Human Resource Centre Canada in the area in which they
want to live. A complete set of LMI products for the province
is available on Internet Web sites for each HRCC.
The HRDC Community Profiles will provide further information
about basic socio-economic characteristics of the local labour
market, including:
education facilities;
health facilities;
transportation and utilities;
public administration (levels of government);
accommodation; and
programs and services (i.e., HRCC, Economic Development, etc.).
Work Destinations is a guide to work and relocation in Canada
for Canadians who want to practise their trade or profession in
another province or territory. It provides occupation-specific
information, local living conditions and social services, and
training and education opportunities http://www.workdestinations.org.
Other Sources of Provincial/
Local LMI to Pursue
The presence of labour market information is growing on the Internet.
Major employers (especially in single industry towns) often produce
information.
Business, union, professional and trade associations have information
to offer.
Science councils will have information on science-related occupations.
The media (newspapers, futurist magazines/books, TV specials and
employment-forecasting books) often take a look at the labour market.
People working in the field of interest, for instance, employees,
employers, neighbours, old schoolmates and relatives are all good
sources of information.
