The environmental sector in Canada is growing steadily and at a quick pace. The specialized workforce in this sector is projected to increased by 90,000 workers in 2024.
Where is the demand? What kind of skills are employers looking for? What are the areas of practice with more job ads? Our job posting analysis allows us to answer those questions.
Let’s take a look.
Demand for environmental workers at a provincial level
Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are the provinces that are demanding more environmental workers. In 2016, Ontario posted over 9,463 job ads; Alberta, 3,259, and British Columbia, 4,330.
The top three fields of environmental practice in each region are Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Natural Resource Management (NRM), and Waste Management (WM).
Statistics Canada has a system to classify occupations, and whenever we analyze job ads in the environmental sector, we match those occupations to ECO Canada’s classification of environmental skills.
According to our research findings, the top three occupations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are other technical inspectors and regulatory officers; civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers, and agriculture and horticulture workers.
Skilled environmental workers by field of practice
Natural Resource Management is one of the areas where employers are looking for talent. Candidates are required to develop and implement plans, programs and practices for ecosystem and habitat preservation and/or the management of natural resources.
Recruiters looking for workers in Environmental Health and Safety require involvement in monitoring/addressing occupational and public health and safety.
As for Waste Management, environmental workers are expected to monitor waste application, disposal and reduction programs and activities.
Natural Resource Management is the field with more job ads posted across Canada. Between the 2014-2016 period, 22,773 job ads were posted. One of the possible reasons why workers in this area are in higher demand is because of the challenges that Canadian ecosystems are facing.
CBC News recently reported that “half of Alberta’s boreal forest could disappear due to fires and climate change.” A forecast like this tells us environmental workers can be hired to get involved in projects that create action plans that prevent damages in nature.
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