Jobs in Canada

How to find jobs in Canada

There are thousands of Canadian job openings in numerous fields open to qualified skilled foreign workers who have been issued a Permanent Resident Visa in Canada. Some of these job openings require a university degree, while others are available for certified skilled tradespeople or live-in caregivers. Experts offer several reasons as to why many of these high-demand jobs in Canada are going unfilled. Some claim that while Canada’s economy is continuing to expand, its labor force is aging and retiring in large numbers. With a lack of Canadian citizens obtaining the necessary skills required for various jobs in Canada (i.e., “skills mismatch”), the government has created special immigration programs to attract eligible skilled foreign workers to fill these voids in the workforce. Hence, if you have the necessary training, skills, work experience, and language abilities, you may be able to apply for these job openings and start a new life full of opportunities in this amazing country of immigrants!

Below, you will find examples of some of the high-demand jobs in Canada, grouped according to the immigration program that corresponds to the particular position. Please note that the Canadian job market is dynamic; immigration and employment opportunities may change according to the constant evolving demands for particular skills in any given province or territory in Canada. The following information regarding select high-demand jobs in Canada (in terms of employment and expected wage) may prove illustrative and helpful to those considering immigration.

Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) 

As of May 4, 2013, this immigration program offers a Permanent Resident Visa to Canada to qualified skilled foreign workers in 24 occupations, as well as to qualified skilled foreign workers with a valid offer of arranged employment in Canada or international students who meet the requirements for the PhD stream. These high-demand Canadian jobs are in various professional, managerial and technical occupations and skilled trades that often require a university education or other specialized training. Some examples (along with rates of job growth and median yearly salaries, based on data from Statistics Canada) include the following:

Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist 

There are various healthcare-related jobs in Canada that are in high demand, such as audiologists and speech language pathologists, who help patients to better communicate and interact with their environment. They saw a spike of 29% in new jobs in 2006-2012 and received a median salary of $77,813 per year (2012).

Civil Engineer 

 Those who want a career designing and maintaining the critical infrastructure of Canadian cities should be pleased to learn that civil engineers in Canada earned a median yearly salary of $76,960 in 2012, with a robust rise of 38% in new positions from 2006 to 2012.

 Health and Safety Inspector (environmental, occupational and public)

If you want to help create and maintain a healthy environment for people in a range of settings and have the criteria Canada is looking for, you may be interested to know that environmental, occupational and/or public health and safety inspectors were paid a median annual income of $66,560 in 2012 and the profession saw a 37% increase of jobs in Canada in the 2006-2012 timeframe.

Mechanical Engineer

Canada needs mechanical engineers to design machines and other energy and manufacturing technologies for industry and consumers. With a median annual salary of $72,800 in 2012, this occupation experienced a 33% growth in positions between 2006 and 2012.

Occupational Therapist 

Occupational therapists use different treatments to help patients with physical, developmental or mental disabilities to regain their daily living skills in a range of settings. In 2012, the median annual salary for an occupational therapist in Canada was $72,738 and the profession saw a healthy rise in employment in Canada of 34% from 2006 to 2012.                     

 Petroleum Engineer

Canada is rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, and needs petroleum engineers to evaluate the best locations in order to find and design the most effective methods for extracting oil and gas from beneath the Earth’s surface. This profession experienced a 75% spike in hiring between 2006 and 2012 and had a median yearly salary of $93,517 per year (2012).

Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) 

This new immigration program started accepting applications on January 2, 2013, and makes a Permanent Resident Visa to Canada available for qualified skilled foreign workers in 43 high-demand trades. Some examples (along with rates of job growth and median yearly salaries, based on data from Statistics Canada) include the following:

Contractor for Electrical Trades and Telecommunications Occupations

Canada is a leader in high-technology. Canadian businesses paid contractors for electrical trades and telecommunications occupations a median yearly salary of $72,800. Additionally, there was an incredible increase of 87% in hiring for this skilled trade.

Electrician 

This job is in very high demand, experiencing a shocking 100% growth in positions between 2006 and 2012 and an annual median salary of $69,493.

Mining Supervisor

Oil and gas are not the only abundant natural resources deposited beneath Canada – this huge country is also wealthy in gold, lead, nickel, uranium, zinc and other metals used in various industries around the globe. There was an 18% increase in job openings for mining supervisors in the 2006-2012 timeframe. In 2012, their median yearly salary was $64,480.

Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Operator 

According to the Canadian government, “Petroleum, gas and chemical process operators monitor and operate petroleum, petrochemical and chemical plants and monitor, adjust and maintain processing units and equipment in these plants. They are employed by petroleum and natural gas processing, pipeline and petrochemical companies and industrial, agricultural and specialty chemical and pharmaceutical companies.” They operate computerized or electronic control panels “from a central control room to monitor and optimize physical and chemical processes for several processing units” plus they “adjust equipment, valves, pumps and controls and process equipment”, to name just some of their important job responsibilities. In 2012, those employed in this skilled Canadian job field earned a median salary of $69,992 per year. Between 2006 and 2012, there was a 5% growth in positions for this skilled trade.

Pipefitters 

The construction industry and other businesses in Canada need pipefitters to develop, install and maintain complex piping systems. The median salary for this poistion in 2012 was $66,560. There was also a healthy 46% rise in openings in this field between 2006 and 2012.

Supervisor for Oil and Gas Drilling Services 

Another high-demand job in this resource-rich country is that of oil and gas drilling supervisor. In 2012, their median annual salary was $74,880 and from 2006 to 2012 there was a spike of 44% in hiring for this position.

These are just some examples of the dozens of Canadian jobs listed as eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). The full list of eligible jobs in Canada and requirements for these two Canadian immigration programs can be found on the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) web pages of our website.  Please note that the above information, based on figures from Statistics Canada, may vary for different companies and regions and is simply provided to help illustrate that many of the high-demand jobs in Canada have seen strong growth over time and also pay well. To find out if you may be eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa to Canada so that you may be able to apply for these or other Canada job openings, click here!