Good Essay About Labor Market SNAP Shot- Immigrant Perspective

Abstract

This report contains a keen analysis of the labor market scenario in British Colombia (BC) with factual data on the job skills blue print needed in the present and future industrial market to help drive for better decisions in job provisions as well as market demand and supply trends. The paper has a keen emphasis on the immigrant population particularly due to the reducing labor workforce in BC as a result of the skill shortage from the decreasing number of new entrants in the labor market together with the retirement of aging population. The future is promising with forecasts of increasing labor supply as compared to labor demand in the next 5 years. The Liquefied Natural Gas Sector (LNG) sector, a key industrial and development tool holding an assurance to future job provisions and workforce absorption is clearly assessed amid its numerous investment activities to ensure the need for workforce supplementary forecasts is attained and to effectively understand the skills needed. This report will therefore have an economic market outlook and workforce occupation forecasts which will ensure both the unemployed and employed immigrant population have an equal chance to appropriately fill in the jobs that will be available.

Introduction

With the rising trend of reducing labor force in the economy, there is need for concise analyses like the BC Labor Market Review which are aimed at providing accurate data on job openings from retirements and available vacancies within and outside the LNG sector as well as other jobs that require post-secondary training. Workforce supply for future job demands has a huge reliance on new entrants in the economic market and immigrants. Being a constant workforce supply, the immigrant population is therefore a significant group compared to other mobility.
Immigrants constitute a larger percentage of the labor supply pool annually when compared to the new market entrants from the school system. Judging from the decreasing number of labor entrants into the market according to available forecasts and the increasing ageing population from retirement, BC will have to rely significantly on the immigrant population as its major source for labor supply (BC Labor Market Outlook, 6).
Some of the most renowned development regions with promising industries with a potential of absorbing a large labor workforce according to forecasting reports include Vancouver Coast and Mainland Island, Thompson-Okanagan, Cariboo, Kootenay, North-East, North Coast, South-West and Nechako (BC Labor Market Outlook, 5).

Demanding Industries

Apart from the LNG industry an emerging sector, some of the most demanding industries as indicated from projected job openings to 2022 include the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Industry which to begin with, has numerous job openings in the sales and service and Business, Finance and Administration occupations. The Transportation and Warehousing Industry comes in second with job openings on Trade, Transport and Equipment Operators Occupations. Managerial job openings are also significantly high and hence the demand need for the Professional Scientific and Managerial Services Industry that is equally of great significance. Education and Government Services Industries follow with numerous job openings as well. The Health Care and Social Assistance Industry comes after as there are promising job openings within the field. The Utilities, Construction and Manufacturing Industries cannot be left out with its huge vacancy on manufacturing and utilities occupations. Lastly the Forestry, Mining and Fishing industry is yet another significant industry with abundant openings on natural resources occupations (BC Labor Market Outlook, 29).

High Demand Jobs according to Skill Levels.

The three occupations groups from the 2022 projections with the highest number of job openings are Sales and Services, Business, Finance and Administration and Trade Transport and Equipment Operators together with other related services. These offer most of the jobs that are n high demand and will be more likely to accept new labor supply.
For each occupation that houses different types of jobs, projected needs for the labor markets were compared against the projected labor supply with the cumulative job openings determining the jobs with the highest demand. Most jobs require university training which qualifies applicants to be in the Skill Level A. Students with college or apprenticeship training fall in the category of Skill Level B. whereby those with high-school training or occupation specific training qualify under the Skill Level C (BC Labor Market Outlook, 6). In Skill Level D is the category where lower skilled students with less than high school training are placed (BC Labor Market Outlook, 8).
In Skill Level A therefore, some of the jobs that had the highest job openings include positions for retail and wholesale trade managers, secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counselors as well as professional occupation the nursing department. In the second Skill Level B, some of the high demand jobs include legal, medical and general office administrative assistants, posts in administrative and regulatory occupations and Paraprofessional occupations in the education, community, social and legal services. The Skill Level C has the following high demand jobs, cleaners, general office workers, retail salespersons and motor vehicle and transit drivers. Finally the skill level D has cashiers, kitchen helpers, food counter attendants and other related support occupations. Of all these occupations however, some which are expected to grow much faster than the average annual provincial growth rate are health, trade, transport and equipment operators and natural and applied sciences occupations (BC Labor Market Outlook, 9).

The Demographic Labor Market Profile

In the Vancouver Island/ Coast, job openings are expected to be 147,000 with 23 per cent being as a result of expansion demand and 77 per cent of the job openings being due to the replaced retired workers due to old age profile of the region (BC Labor Market Outlook, 11). The Mainland/ Southwest is projected to have 641,500 job openings over the 10 year outlook period with expansion demand taking 37 per cent and 63 per cent representing the spaces resulting from retired workers position from aging (BC Labor Market Outlook, 12). As a result of the small size of local labor supply in northern B.C, the growth in the employment is to be filled by workers who are living in the Mainland/Southwest permanently. The region employs more than 60 per cent of the workers. This furthermore indicates the growing need for the immigrant population which is projected to occupy a third of all the available job openings from their immense numbers and annual increase.
Thompson-Okanagan is expected to have job openings of about 98,300 with 80 per cent arising from the similar need to replace retiring workers and the remaining 20 per cent present as a result of the expansion demand (BC Labor Market Outlook, 13). The Kootenay development region is expected to offer 29,300 job openings with 80 per cent replacing retired workers and the other 20 per cent is as a result of the expansion (BC Labor Market Outlook, 14). Cariboo development region will avail 30,300 job openings (BC Labor Market Outlook, 15). From the demography, most of the job openings, the retiring workers will contribute for 87 per cent and the remaining 13 percent will be due to the expansion demand. North Coast and Nechako development region is to have about 20,100 job openings (BC Labor Market Outlook, 16). Retirement workers replacement will contribute to 65 per cent while the other expansion demand will contribute to 35 percent. Northeast development region on the other hand is expected to have 18,400 jobs opening with expansion demand contributing to 41 per cent and the 59 per cent to replace retired workers (BC Labor Market Outlook, 17).

The LNG project and the Natural resources sector

The LNG Industrial project is a significant sector in BC set to support the labor market investments and planning. It furthermore ensures that BC meets the future needs of the workforce in BC. The LNG workforce projections have an indication of the demand of occupations in construction and operations till 2023 (BC Labor Market Outlook, 18). The LNG is closely related to the Natural Resource Sector due to its association with the exploitation of Natural Resources in the country. It is divided into a first stream which is the Natural Gas Extraction and Processing, a midstream which is the Pipeline Transmission and finally the downstream, Liquefaction and Transportation (Office of Labor BC, 5). The direct and indirect workforce demand in both the construction and operations phases is projected to vary across these streams. Welders, Gas Fitters, Carpenters, Crane Operators, Construction Trade Helpers and Laborers, Concrete Finishers, Heavy Equipment Operators, Purchasing Agents and Officers, Transport Truck Drivers and Pipe and Steam fitters just to mention a few are some of the occupations that will be in high demand within LNG (BC Labor Market Outlook, 21). Steady State Operations will however be reached by 2027 after all of the five LNG Plants will be in full production.

Conclusion

Since the demographic population profiles in the different highlighted provinces influence the dynamics of the labor market, it is important to observe the pattern of labor market demand and supply. From the forecasts, the ageing populations will have a constant gradual increase as new entrants in the market for the first time within the BC will have an opposite reduction. The immigrant population will therefore be very critical to supply a large percentage of the labor workforce supply. The different regions are expected to attract the migrant population through measures that include increased participation rates, enhanced productivity as well as responsive education and training systems to ensure labor market shortages will be adequately addressed.

Where to get information

Job applicants can get extra information on present and projected job openings in BC from the BC Provincial Labor Market Outlook Report, the government website at and the Economic Labor Market Projections from the BC Ministry of Finance. Networking events are also significant places where such information can be availed including the forthcoming Natural Resources Alternative Careers Event.

Works Cited

British Columbia 2022 Labor Market Outlook. Retrieved from: Web <
http://www.workbc.ca/WorkBC/files/5f/5fc26f16-3c0f-4884-ab99-b475ca7448b7.pdf > accessed 14th Jan 2015.
Office of, Labor BC. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Maryland: Bernan Guaranteed
Reprint, 2008. Print.