By Gordon Mcintype, The Province | Link to Article
British Columbians can expect to see almost one million job openings in the next seven years as boomers retire, according to a provincial government report.
By Gordon Mcintype, The Province | Link to Article
British Columbians can expect to see almost one million job openings in the next seven years as boomers retire, according to a provincial government report.
Two-thirds of the projected 985,100 job openings created between now and 2022 will be due to retirement, and one-third to economic growth — especially in skilled trades, according to the B.C. 2022 Labour Market Outlook, a forecast of labour demand and supply trends carried out by KPMG.
About four out of five of those job openings will require some form of post-secondary education, the report said, while 44 per cent of job openings will be in the skilled trades and technical occupations.
At the moment, about 70 per cent of B.C.’s labour force has some post-secondary education.
“Many people will start thinking about upgrading their skills or even a new career with the arrival of the new year,” Minister of Advanced Education Andrew Wilkinson said in a press release. “There is a lot of information now available to help students access training that employers want, get information on high-demand occupations and see what career is their best fit.”
The KPMG report looked at the provincial economy’s growth forecast both with and without liquid natural gas development.
LNG could provide an added 100,000 job openings, the report said.
Between now and 2022, demand for workers is expected to outgrow the labour force by 42,250 workers.
“Overall, labour demand is expected to grow faster than labour supply in B.C.,” the report said. “As a result, tight labour market conditions, where the demand for workers surpasses the supply of workers, are expected in the later part of the outlook periods, starting in 2019.
In other words, perfect timing for someone entering university or a technical institute come the fall.