2. Toronto Highlights
• A major economic engine of the country with 83,000
businesses
10/9/2012
• Major employment clusters: finance and financial
services, retail trade, arts and culture, tourism and
hospitality.
• Manufacturing and construction account for a
significant percentage of the economy.
• 2nd Greenest Canadian City in Leading the Fight against
Climate Change (Global Financial Centres Index - GFCI 9)
• Toronto has the lowest risk in the world for employers
to recruit, employ and relocate employees (Aon Consulting’s
People Risk Index) 2
3. Labour Force Characteristics
• Population
City of Toronto
10/9/2012
• Population: 2,615,060, (7.8% of Canada’s total
population)
• Between 2006 and 2011, Toronto’s population
grew 4.5%.
• By 2031 approximately 20.5% of the population
will be 65 years or older and the proportion of
youth will be only half that of seniors.
3
13. JOBS IN DEMAND
• Case manager
• Communications and grant writing manager
10/9/2012
• Community work developer
• General counsellor
• Job coach/developer
• Project coordinator
• Team leader
• Volunteer coordinator
• Volunteer engagement specialist
13
20. JOBS IN DEMAND
• Boilermakers.
• Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics.
10/9/2012
• Crane operators.
• Electricians, including industrial and power system.
• Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics.
• Sheet metal workers.
• Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers.
• Tilesetters.
• Welders and related machine operators.
20
24. JOBS IN DEMAND
• Film and video camera operator
10/9/2012
• Graphic designer and operator
• Industrial designer
• Graphic arts technician
• Technical occupations related to museums and galleries
• Technical occupations in the motion picture, broadcasting
24
28. SUPPLY<DEMAND
• Audiologist and speech language pathologist
• Electroencephalographic and other diagnostic
10/9/2012
technologists
• Medical laboratories technologists and
pathologists assistants.
• Medical radiation technologists
28
33. Green Jobs
• An estimated 13, 000 jobs have already been created and
a projected 40,000 more to come (Government of
Ontario)
10/9/2012
• 400 new jobs created in Newmarket due to the opening
of a production line for solar panel components by
Flextronics
• Sungrow Canada Inc.’s new headquarters in Vaughn has
created 50 new jobs in manufacturing, research and
development, and technical support services for solar
voltaic inverters.
• Sieman’ s solar manufacturing facility in Burlington
started with 10 jobs and 50 more are expected to come 33
within the next 5 years.
37. For more information
10/9/2012
www.workforceinnovation.ca
www.routestoemployment.ca
Phone: 416 934 1653
Fax: 416 934 1653
Address: 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 350
Toronto, ON, M5T 2C7
37
Editor's Notes
International immigrants are the largest source of migration to Toronto, while intercity migrantscomprise the next largest group. In 2012 international migration predicted about 85,000, growing to over 110,000 by 2015 Conference Board of Canada)City continues to be a net importer of labour from surrounding areasA very high influx of 18-24 year olds (attending many post-secondary institutions in the city) A net out-migration among the other three age categories (0-17 year olds, 45-64 year olds and 65 years and older). Toronto’s labour force totalled over 1.3 million in December 2011, representing a decrease of 1.4%compared to the same period in 2010.
Toronto’s largest industry grouping:-Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, formerly knownas Business Services, although 85% of residents work in service-producing industries.- Financial Services- Retail TradeManufacturing ( trend- employment in the Manufacturing industry in Toronto has been declining at an average annual rate of 4.7% since2000)- Health Care- Education Biomedical and biotechnology cluster, part of the health sector, is the fourth largest inNorth America. The construction sector, especially the residential one, has remained strong, positivelyimpacting the finance, insurance and real estate sectors.There is also a significant concentration of firms that aredirectly or indirectly related to “green activities”. The green sector is divided into six main categories,crossing a number of sectors, all of which contribute to “greening Toronto”. These include:-Professional Support Services -Not for profit-Corporate Energy Associations-Finance and Venture Capital Technology Companies
This sector represents businesses that sell expertise, typically reflecting expert knowledge or aprofessional designation, including:• Legal Services;• Accounting, Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation Services• Architectural, Engineering and Related Services• Scientific Research and Development• Advertising, Public Relations and Related ServicesThe technical and professional services cluster is among the largest in North America and continues to grow, employing 324,660 people. Women account for slightly less than one half of the workforce.An average proportion of workers are aged 45 years or older.A growing number of organizations now purchase professional and technical services from outside firms rather than employing in-house staff with such expertise.Very few of these workers have union coverage.Wages are generally above the provincial average.
It’s predicted my the Toronto Regional Research Alliance that in the Toronto Region occupations in engineering will be in high demand and undersupplied. Middle level engineering jobs, such as technician and technologist, are not regulated in Ontario.Employers look for people whose skills are highly specialized. For example, cost analysis engineers in the mining industry, an account with the experience in the retail industry or other similar expertise. Most of the senior level jobs in Technical and Professional Sector are regulated in Ontario. It is illegal to practice as an engineer, an architect or a lawyer or to use the title without being licensed with a provincial association.Individuals can do engineering or architectural work under the direct supervision of licensed professional engineers.
The Toronto Region has a high concentration of Professional, Scientific and Technical Servicesemployment compared to the rest of the province. Employment in this sector in GTA accounts for 48% ofall Ontario’s jobs.Concentration of subsectorsThe proportion of this industry sector comparedto all employment is 29% higher in this region than across the province as whole. Theconcentrationis especially pronounced in Toronto and York. Toronto has extremely high concentrations of employmentin the Legal Services and Advertising sectors, as well as high concentrations in Specialized Design,Consulting Services, Accounting and Computer Systems. In Scientific Research and DevelopmentServices, Toronto comes in below the provincial average.Labour ForceThe Computer Systems and Legal Services subsectors are the largest job clusters in the City ofToronto, equaling approximately 30,000 jobs each. Several other subsectors, in Toronto and otherareas, have over 10,000 jobs (Census 2006)Number of businessesBetween December 2008 and June 2011, the trend in the number of employers by employeesize has been as follows:• An increase in the number of firms with 1-19 employees;• A slight drop in the number of firms with 20-99 employees;• A considerable drop in the number of firms with 100+ employees.
A prominent manufacturing sector in Toronto. Toronto dominates the provincial food industry as more than half of all the food processing in theprovince occurs in the Greater Toronto Region. It is the second largest employment sector in the city. With over700 businesses in Toronto and 1,500 in the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), and nearly 60,000employees in the CMA.Bakeries are the largest single type of food processing plant, and this has resulted in diverse, highquality products in this sub-sector. Meat processing is the next largest sub-sector, followed by beveragesWithin the next 10 years, employment growth rates are expected to double.Future TrendsA developing “new food economy” has emerged, characterized by new consumer demands for localfood, and by an increased prevalence of small and medium sized companies focusing on respondingto these demands. Increasingly, consumers are driving Toronto’s food market, indicating risingpreferences for new kinds of products as local, ethnic or organic food.
The non-profit sector is made up of organizations that deliver programs and services from health careto after school sports that improve people’s daily lives, foster cohesion, integration and innovationand bring vibrancy to communities. The sector can be divided into five subcategories: religiousorganizationswelfare organizations, arts, entertainment and recreation, other non-profit educational services.In the last decade, the non-profit labour force in the Toronto CMA grew by 17,1%, outpacing the growth of the total labour force by almost 50%. Today, approximately 3% of the employed residents in the City of Toronto work in the non-profit sector. Toronto residents form a disproportionate share of the provincial workforce in the subsectors of grant making and giving services, and social advocacy organizations.
The non-profit sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the job market and always needs highly-skilled and passionate people.Government agencies contract out much of their work to non-profits. Currently, the sector is going through a transformation due to digitization and the introduction of new technologies. Working in the non-profit sector may be appealing to many professionals.Employers are interested in hiring entrepreneurial, innovative and visionary professionals with transferable skills.Professionals in non-profits are often required to take on tasks and responsibilities outside their job descriptions, anything from managing volunteers and staff, to working on projects outside of their areas of expertise and collaborating with outside individuals and organizations.International work experience-including linguistic abilities, cultural competency and international perspectives-is also valued in this sector.
Tourism in Toronto is a key industry that plays an important role in the city’s economy; generatingemployment, foreign exchange earnings, investment and regional development. Characteristics of thesector include:• Total spending by visitors is $4.35 billion• Visitor spending in Toronto in 2010 generated $1.08 billion in total taxes• Toronto has over 24,000 tourism related businesses employing 224,000 peopleLabour ForceIn 2010, nearly 30% of the people working in accommodation food and beverage servicesfell within the 15-24 age group. Sector with many entry-level jobs and career opportunitiesImmigrants are an important source of labour for tourism industries in the Toronto CMA, holding27.3% of jobs. Tourism skills are transferable around the world. Depending on the nature of the job,work may be part-time or full-time.Labour shortagesAccording to the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council by 2025, the potential labour shortagein Ontario’s tourism sector the gap between tourism labour supply and demand in Toronto is estimatedto potentially rise to 42,000 in Toronto.
Toronto, ON came in second on the list of Top 12 Cities to Find an IT Job in 2012, in part due to its position as the fourth largest IT market in North America. This sector is changing and is composed of a large number of small, rapidly-growing companies, as well as some very large, long-established ones. The ICT sector closely collaborates with other sectors like healthcare, education, social/clean technology, media and entertainment.The financial sector is one of the most ICT intensive. Between 5-10% of the ICT workforce is directly employed by the Toronto region’s financial services organizations.
In the Toronto Region, together with business occupations, information technology positions are the most in demand. But while there seems to be a good supply of graduates in business, IT occupations are significantly undersupplied. For example, “Web designers” and “Database analysts” have approximately 10 times less than the number of graduates they need. (See Figure 15.) The IT sector employs few females. In 2006, only one quarter of the labour force in IT for the Toronto Region was female. The recent 17 per cent of female IT graduates indicates that this situation might not improve in the near future. The required skills and knowledge in ICT industries change rapidly according to technological advances. ICT professionals need to upgrade their skills regularly to stay relevant and competitive in their fields of expertise. For successful workplace integration, internationally trained ICT professionals should try to extend their professional networking by attending career fairs for ICT workers, take enhanced language and communication training and look for ICT jobs in non-traditional ICT sectors. Project management, Java development, and SAP or CRM experience are the skills most in demand.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has the largest construction market in Ontario, employing 163,450 people. This sector is made up of three major sub-sectors: residential, ICI (industrial, commercial and institutional) and civil (heavy engineering). According to the Construction Sector Council, the construction labour market in Ontario will expand in 2011-2019.The strongest gains in the Greater Toronto Area are expected to be driven by large non-residential projects. Ontario’s Green Energy Act of 2008 is expected to raise the demand for green construction, which is influencing the development of new specializations in the trades. A number of trades are emerging in the construction field, such as: external insulation finishing system mechanics, solar installer, geothermal installers, and green roof specialists.
Toronto is North America’s third largest financial center and Canada’s financial and business capital. The Toronto region’s Financial Sector is recognized globally as sound, safe, vibrant and innovative and is ranked in the region’s top 100 best places to work. Its strengths include strategic planning, financial product development, risk management and systems design as well as training and development. Over the past several years this sector has seen many changes, including the growth of credit unions, and the diversification of product offerings. Toronto is the centre for over 10% of Canadian economic activity, at $123 billion. It contributes 12% to Toronto’s Gross Municipal Product.
Financial services firms look for professionals who can manage risk and understand compliance.Numerous positions have recently opened up in large to mid-sized organizations. The positions are often for internal auditors and process control specialists as well as anti-money laundering and financial crime experts. Canadian institutions offer special courses in these areas.Another trend is skills specialization. Employers prefer to hire people with a very specialized set of skills, e.g., an accountant with work experience in property management or a financial analyst with retail experience.Securing certification and/or designation in the financial services will help ease the path to employment. The Toronto Financial Service Alliance has predicted shortages over the next 3-5 years of those with specialized skills to meet the needs of the Financial Services industry.The gaps are most prevalent in the area of project management skills-especially softer skills such as change management and customer relations skills. Employers are looking for people with the ability to adapt to change as well as professionals with more specialized, rather than generalized skills.
The City of Toronto’s strong and vibrant cultural sector continues to grow, attract and develop a pool of workers who are creative and talented.This sector is important both nationally and internationally and provides endless opportunities to experience and get involved with the classic arts and new media ideas.Creative industries are one of the fastest-growing sectors in Toronto. The number of jobs and the number of residents employed in the culture occupations over last decade roughly doubled the rate of the growth experienced by all occupations. The strongest growth was in cultural management occupations (14%) and in creative and artistic production occupations (13%).The Toronto region has the largest concentration of firms in advertising, motion picture and video production, sound recording, and specialized design (graphic, interior, industrial) in Canada. In total, there are over 8,600 firms in the creative industries. New Media is another rapidly growing cluster with firms specializing in animation, post-production, special effects, graphic design services, and CD/DVD production. New technologies offer tremendous opportunities for employment in cultural occupations.
Jobs and businesses in Toronto’s Culture sector may be both highly clustered and very widely spread.Writers, musicians, singers, choreographers, graphic designers and illustrating artists, are strongly concentrated in Toronto. The two last groups have grown substantially since the mid-1990s, in keeping with the demand for new media and web-based applications. Currently, creative people often work in non-traditional or non-arts sectors. Graphic designers work in finance, insurance and real estate; industrial designers work in manufacturing; advertising executives work for car manufacturers and food distributors; video game producers work for health-care firms; artists work in education. One in every three people employed in Canada’s design industry works in Toronto, while one in every four people employed in Canada’s performing arts industry works in Toronto.Producers, directors, conductors and, composers, are among those groups most strongly concentrated in Toronto.Employers continue to express a strong preference to hire ITPs who are familiar with the social and cultural context of the Canadian workplace.
Toronto’s Retai The significant retail subsectors by number of jobs in Toronto are: food and beverage stores, clothing and clothing accessories stores, and general merchandise stores (department stores, warehouse clubs and superstores). Chain stores dominate these subsectors since over the past several years the share of the retail market has shifted steadily toward chain stores. l sector is a vital part of the economy, employing 316,560 people, with almost half of the workforce living in Toronto. the sector requires a diverse and complex set of skills. Skills needed in the retail sector include: operational skills that are required to deliver specific services; tactical or specialist skills that are cross-functional; and skills such as project management needed to foster a culture of innovation. Over the past few years, retail has become a deliberate career choice for many people. It provides variety of career experiences in sales, management, buying and merchandising, marketing, human resources, business development, store design and planning, as well as logistics, finances and accounting, information management, franchising, etc. It also offers job convenience and flexibility.
Retail skills are easily transferable and this facilitates workforce integration for the internationally trained professional. People who have extensive experience in data and cost analysis, e-commerce, fraud and loss prevention are currently in demand. E-commerce has enabled retailers to leverage their existing logistics networks, customer services and branding to drive increase their market share.Risks associated with error and fraud related to procurement are significant. Recent surveys show that the value and the frequency of detected fraud are at levels that should concern retail companies. Job seekers with expertise in managing or detecting fraud are in demand.
With more than 50 hospitals and some 130,000 people employed in the health care industry, Toronto is Canada’s major health care centre due to the number . The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care (MOHLTC) recently identified the following health system trends: person-centered care, sustainability, productivity, and innovation in the health care system, chronic disease prevention and management, human resources management, mental health addictions, e-health, public and population health, and health care facility infrastructure. These have been outlined in the MOHLTC 2011-2012 Operational Plan. Toronto recruits many International Medical Graduates (IMG), in particular from India and South Africa. The number of full-time IMGs in Ontario increased from 6743 in 2000 to 719,760 in 2009. Therefore, the workforce itself is changing to meet the increased demand through extending the career of health-care providers (e.g. Ontario’s Late Career Nurse Initiative) and increasing the opportunity for full-time employment of new nursing graduates (New Graduate Guarantee). E-health solutions are viewed as one of the key methods of modernizing the health-care system. The Internet and mobile phone technologies are becoming an important medium in the delivery of care services, especially to patients with chronic conditions. These technologies include web-based public health interventions, telemental health programs, and automated physical activity programs, home monitoring programs after hospital discharge, online pharmacists care, remote diagnostics of health conditions, integrated health management devices and online services.The health care system is altering the infrastructure in order to meet infection control standards and the demands and needs of a changing population. A new long-term care plan has been developed to upgrade hospital facilities, including single patient rooms, ergonomic intervention in nursing homes and other health-care facilities, green building designs and sustainable practices.
Bridge training programs are funded to help qualified internationally educated individuals movequickly into the labour market in Ontario. These programs, addressing a variety of industries andprofessions, assess IEP’s existing skills and competencies as compared to Ontario employer expectations.They provide training and Canadian workplace experience without duplicating what IEPs learned intheir own countries. Bridging programs vary both by sector and program delivery. Some programs offercomplementary mentoring opportunities with established professionals to help the IEP becomecertified or registered in his/her field, while others include a job placement or internship opportunity.Although bridging programs vary, they can provide:1. An assessment of IEP’s education and skills;2. Clinical or workplace experience;3. Skills training or targeted academic training programs;4. Preparation for a license or certification examination;5. Language training for the specific profession; and6. Individual learning plans to identify any added training that might be needed.14In the Toronto area, bridging programs are offered by both agencies and academic institutions. Thisincludes academic institutions such as the University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson University,George Brown, Seneca and Humber College. The agencies include ACCES, JVS Toronto, Microskills,Skills for Change, Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and CARE for Nurses
Talent is critical – the green economy is dependent on the combination of quality of place, talent and opportunity. But many stakeholders involved in workforce development, as well as job seekers, are confused about what exactly a green job is, where these jobs will be and what the training and education requirements for these jobs will include. There is also confusion about whether these green jobs will be new jobs with new skills requirements or expectations, jobs or professions that will require the same skills with new applications of those skills, or whether there will be a new occupations and trades to meet changing occupational requirements. Training and Service providers are looking for concrete information on employment in green industries and about green occupations and careers – hard to find; classification categories such as the NOC codes or the NAICS don’t really apply to green jobs, hard to classifiy so hard to post positions; how do you advertise and where do you find people?
Toronto’s workforce is made up one of the most diverse populations in the country. Employees, employers and government bodies are seeking out means to ensure inclusive workplaces representative and welcoming of a population that includes differences in age, ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual orientation and gender identity, immigration status and first languages.As the business case for diversity grows, new HR policies, business practices, and customer service approaches are developed. This results in an increasing need for education and training about the needs of differing staff and customers, as well as the benefits that multiple perspectives bring to organizations.
Economic transformation can be understood as fluctuations within the economy at large, as well as fluctuations within and across industrial sectors. Recessions, as well as the shift from a manufacturing to a service based economy are examples of such, both of which can be sudden or gradual, as well as short or long-term. In either case, the training and employment implications can be profound. Economic transformation has given rise to Toronto’s ‘hourglass economy’ with the disappearance of the middle class. It has also increased the occurrence of precarious work situations due to the unsure futures of many businesses and organizations. At the same time, economic transformation has: brought about a growth of opportunity within service oriented occupations; increased opportunities for those with post-secondary education; and opened up new markets for new services and products.
With the increasing permeation of the digital world into our working lives, combined with the low cost of use, organizations are increasingly seeking out better and more efficient means to manage and enhance productivity and effectiveness. Doing so has greatly affected employee and job seeker training needs in relation to the digital literacy skills required for their current or future professions. Digital literacy can be defined as “...an understanding of the nature and uses of various digital media, tools and technologies; how to communicate and collaborate effectively via digital media; critical thinking about the role and uses of digital media; creativity, etiquette, safety, health; and so on.” The rapid addition of new software, services and tools means employees, companies and organizations are put under constant pressure to keep up-to-date, as well as to troubleshoot technological problems.
