With approximately one million job openings expected, the Labour Market Outlook and Find Your Path tool provide British Columbians with information to identify and access future educational and career opportunities in an exciting decade.

“The people of B.C. are at the heart of our economic success,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. “Our government continues to work for people by making post-secondary education and skills training more accessible, more affordable, more responsive and more relevant to the demands of the job market. With nearly one million jobs forecast, everyone can find their path to succeed in B.C.’s workforce.”

The Labour Market Outlook report is a 10-year forecast that helps current and future post-secondary students, organizations, people seeking retraining and employers with the most up-to-date information to make informed decisions about careers, skills training and education, as well as hiring.

With the new Find Your Path digital tool, people can explore in-demand careers and map out their educational journey, with easy-to-navigate steps to guide them. Education and skills pathways have been mapped within the tool for more than 250 occupations, such as many of the high-opportunity occupations identified in the 2023 Labour Market Outlook. More occupations will continue to be added on a regular basis.

British Columbians will have a wide choice of good-paying job opportunities and new career paths during the next decade. Employment is projected to grow at an average of 1.2% per year and the province is expected to reach 3.1 million people employed by 2033.

“With nearly one million job openings on the horizon, it is essential that we are focused on building and fostering a skilled workforce for these in-demand jobs,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “The Labour Market Outlook identifies key sectors, while the Find Your Path digital tool acts as a road map for British Columbians to get that job. We are investing in people and businesses by developing a skilled workforce that allows people to have good jobs in the communities they love.”

The High Opportunity Occupations list helps British Columbians make informed career decisions by highlighting occupations that will provide the greatest opportunities in the coming decade. This year, the list includes a substantial number of occupations in health, tech, and management.

The Province has steadily expanded access to post-secondary training in several in-demand fields, such as:

• funding 602 new nursing seats at colleges and universities throughout B.C. – adding to the approximately 2,000 existing nursing seats in the province;
• creating a new medical school at Simon Fraser University and adding 40 new undergraduate medical education seats and as many as 112 new residency seats at the University of British Columbia’s faculty of medicine;
• creating more than 1,700 additional early childhood educator (ECE) spaces and providing 6,500 bursaries to ECE students since 2018;
• adding approximately 6,000 new tech-relevant spaces since 2017; and
• providing $271.3 million toward Vancouver Community College’s new Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation.
  • The state-of-the-art training facility will accommodate as many as 1,400 students each year with new programs in clean-energy technology, light rail and zero-emissions vehicle repair and technology.

With the StrongerBC: Future Ready Action Plan and the International Credentials Recognition Act, there are more supports for people to acquire the skills and training they need to fill the jobs during the next decade.

Quick Facts:

• Between 2023 and 2033, approximately one million job openings are expected.
• Between 2023 and 2033, approximately 75% of all job openings will require some level of post-secondary education or training.
• Approximately 65% of future job openings, which equates to approximately 653,000 jobs, will be needed in order to replace workers leaving the labour force and 35%— or approximately 345,000 jobs—will be created through economic growth.
• Young people (aged 29 or younger) entering the labour force for the first time are expected to make up 47% of new job seekers.
  • Almost as many, 46%, of all new job seekers will be immigrants.

Learn More:

For the 2023 edition of the B.C. Labour Market Outlook, the online dashboard and other links, visit: http://www.workbc.ca/labourmarketoutlook

To use the new Find Your Path tool, visit: https://www.educationplannerbc.ca/find-your-path

For career education resources for teachers and counsellors, visit: https://careereducation.workbc.ca/

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