Growing Industries and Job Opportunities

Who’s hiring now?

Job searching is challenging at the best of times. With the economy taking a massive hit right now due to Covid-19, many people are faced with losing their jobs while others are graduating into an economy with seemingly limited opportunities. There is a light on the horizon and hope is certainly not lost. This blog post will help shine the light on growth industries that are not only hiring during this time, but those that are thriving.

We interviewed Abraham Asrat, Manager, Employer and Alumni Relations with the Centre for Student Involvement and Careers who works closely with local and national employers and connecting them with students. Abraham shared his insights on where to look, if we are job searching right now.

Here are the top six sectors that are thriving:

1. Food and Agricultural Services – People must eat. There is a growing need for skilled workers to execute new food safety protocols. There has also been a shift in the labour market. Less temporary foreign workers means a need for labourers to get food from farmers to our grocery store shelves.

2. Healthcare – The sector continues to expand with need for nurses and radiologists, as well as home care aid and seniors home workers. Those without prior healthcare experience are needed for meal preparation, cleaning and other operational tasks.

3. Government of Canada – The government is hiring to expand services to meet the growing needs of citizens and businesses.

4. Custom service areas, such as insurance providers – There is a need for customer/client facing positions that can be done remotely. Especially as things begin to open up again, this will be an ever growing area.

5. The tech sector – Never slowed down, especially the larger companies are continuing to hire. With the shift to working remotely all the online platforms as well as online retailers, have seen a huge uptake in activity resulting in the need for more staff.

6. Transportation – of food and goods. This is an area that has only excelled during the pandemic. With people ordering everything from groceries and essentials, to clothing and home goods online, there is a high demand for people to facilitate getting these goods to our homes.

UBC Centre for Student Involvement and Careers recently hosted its first virtual job fair open to students and alumni. Over 30 employers participated, collectively looking to hire over 680 jobs. These are extraordinary times that require us to be adaptable and resilient. There is no shame in taking an “in-between” job while looking for something more permanent that’s in line with your area of study or expertise.