JOB FUTURES

Job Futures (www.jobfutures.ca) (http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/labourmarket/ojf/  for Ontario) is a Canadian government website that provides information about 300 occupational groups. For each occupation, you can learn about average earnings, job duties, unemployment and education requirements. The strength of this website is that it provides up-to-date information about the work prospects or employment outlook for each occupation. This information can help you decide what kind of work to look for.

Under the work prospects section you can find information about the factors that affect how easy or hard it is to find work in different occupations. These factors include economic conditions and demand in different areas of Canada for workers in that occupation.

The example below shows the 2009 work prospects for Dental Assistants. You can search the website for information by sector, by education level or by the NOC code.

VOC: 3411

education level:

• Completion of an eight-month to one-year college or other program in dental assistance
  or
  Completion of secondary school with on-the-job training is required.

• Licensing is required to perform intra-oral duties in all provinces. In Quebec, intra-oral duties are not performed by dental assistants.

The following phrases come from the Job Futures website. Using your own words, explain what they mean.

1. licensing is mandatory: you want to do the work , you must have licences ,or you can not do the work.

2. rate of wage growth is below average

3. employment outlook is fair

4. earnings are close to national average

5. work prospects will continue to be good

6. retirement rate will likely be average

7. the number of job seekers will likely match the number of job openings

On the Job Futures website, read the information about an occupation that interests you. Prepare a short presentation and present it to the class. The following questions can guide you.

1. What are the main duties in this occupation?

2. What are the educational requirements?

3. What are the work prospects (hourly wages, unemployment rates)?

4. What are some interesting facts about this occupation?