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Are You Looking for Work?
GETTING STARTED: UNDERSTANDING THE JOB MARKET
Immigrant women identify finding employment as a top priority. As both women and immigrants however they face certain barriers including language, childcare demands, discrimination and a lack of recognition for their foreign experience and education.
But finding meaningful employment is achievable for women who apply their skills, talent and hard-work to the job search. More than ever, immigrant women are arriving in Canada with high-levels of education. In fact, immigrant women are more likely to have gone to university than their Canadian-born counterparts. This combined with looming labour shortages and a growing demand for skilled workers means opportunities exist for committed jobseekers.
The Job Market
Before setting your short and long-term career goals, it helps to understand the job market to see what the prospects are like in your chosen field.
Local Job Market Prospects:
- The Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula Labour Market Monitor is an up-to-date overview of labour market information in the Hamilton area including labour force trends and news by industry. This monthly report is produced by a local area Labour Market Information Analyst with Service Canada.
- The Hamilton Training Advisory Board is a non-profit organization that provides research on the local labour market. Click here to read about promising local occupations and opportunities in HTAB’s Workforce Focus publication.
Provincial Prospects:
- Ontario Job Futures provides information on the current trends and future outlook for 163 occupations in Ontario.
National Prospects:
- Service Canada - Job Futures provides useful information from across the country on employment trends, work experience of recent graduates and tomorrow’s most promising jobs. Download its useful guide here.
Salaries:
- Salary and Wage Guide: Provides a snapshot of what you can expect to be paid in various occupations across Canada.
Finding the Right Fit
If you are still deciding what direction to go in or want to make a career change, there are many assessment tools available online to help you focus your career goals. Below are some popular options that are free and do not require registration:
- Career Navigator and Quizzes: Various online tests to help you determine what jobs best match your skills and interests through Service Canada’s Job Bank.
- Career Development eManual: A comprehensive assessment tool from Career Services at the University of Waterloo. ·
- Occupations by Interest: Browse occupations based on your interests on the Service Canada website.
- Queendom Career Tests: Career quizzes that test your aptitude at Queendom.
- Career Assessment Questionnaire: This assessment tool from Charity Village will help you clearly identify your skills, interests, strengths and career goals.
Job Categories
- Job categories in Canada are organized by National Occupational Codes or NOC.
- Job Titles: Click here to browse for jobs by sector, education level or NOC code.
- Human Resources and Skills Development Canada provides an online Career Handbook to help guide jobseekers (and employers) through the NOC system. The handbook provides 923 occupational profiles and includes information on aptitudes, interests, involvement with data/people/things, physical activities, environmental conditions, education/training indicators, career progression and work settings.
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