Whether you’re looking for a particular job or planning your career path, you want one with High Opportunity Jobs that are going to make your job search a little easier. But what does a High Opportunity Occupation mean? What should you consider when searching for a High Opportunity Occupation?
We’ll answer these questions below and explore a few examples of some High Opportunity Jobs you can land after your training and education at Sprott Shaw College.
What Is a High Opportunity Occupation?
First, what is it? As stated by WorkBC, High Opportunity Occupations “are those that are expected to experience higher demand and offer higher pay compared to other occupations.”
So how do we determine which jobs and roles qualify as a High Opportunity Occupation? We look at the answers to 4 questions that all inclusively help us determine which particular jobs may lead to more opportunities and benefits than others.
1. What Does the Wage Look Like?
When considering this factor, we need to look at the current wage rate for the job and compare it to other jobs in the field that are similar. Does the job have a higher average than its similar counterparts? If yes, it satisfies the criteria for this first component.
2. How Easy Will It Be to Get a Job in the Future?
For this, we need to look at the forecasted labour market trends. Is there going to be a demand for the job in the future? If it’s forecasted to see high demand trends, we can presume that it will be easier to find a job for the role in the future.
3. How Easy Is It to Get a Job Now?
Not only do we need to look at trends in the future, but we also need to look at what’s happening now. Is there a demand for the job today? We need to look at the most recent employment and unemployment insurance rates to understand how relatively easy it is to find a job for the role today.
4. How Many Job Opportunities Will Be Available?
Last but not least, we also need to look at how many opportunities will be available. Not only will a job need to be in demand, but the number of available opportunities will also need to be in line with that demand.
Jobs that satisfy the criteria for all of these questions can be considered a High Opportunity Occupation.
What High Opportunity Occupations Are There and How Can I Land One?
Now that we know what qualifies a job as a High Opportunity Occupation, we can start to look at a few of the roles you can pursue with the hands-on training offered at Sprott Shaw.
Nursing and Healthcare
A few of the Highest Opportunity Occupations are health care assistants, nurse aides, and patient services associates. The median hourly wage for a role in this field is $21 and it’s expected that there will be 17,890 new job openings from today to 2029. To become a health care assistant or a similar role, you can complete a qualifying program like the one we offer. Our Health Care Assistant program includes hands-on acute, hospice, and palliative care training and certification.
Another High Opportunity Occupation is a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Licensed practical nurses offer care and support for their patients. While there aren’t as many job openings as health care assistants at 4,290 openings for LPNs, they do see a higher median hourly wage of $27.32. To become an LPN, you can take our Practical Nursing program and pass the licensing exam offered by the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCNM).
Dental assistants help dentists with a variety of administrative and intra-oral duties. Dental assistants can expect to see a median hourly wage of $24.50 and approximately 2,040 new job openings. To become a dental assistant, you can take our Dental Assistant program which includes both Level 1 and Level 2 training.
Administration
The field of administration is home to a number of High Opportunity Occupations – one of them being administrative officers. As the name suggests, administrative officers carry out administrative tasks in businesses and organizations. The median hourly wage for an administrative officer is $24 and there are 16,320 expected job openings. To pursue a career in this field, you can enroll in one of our Administration programs including medical administration, legal administration, office administration, and even veterinary administration.
Law
As we mentioned previously, legal administrators are a High Opportunity Occupation. Legal administrators can expect to see a median hourly wage of $24.29 and 2,310 job openings. To become a legal administrator, you can enroll in our Legal Administration program to gain the skills you need.
A paralegal is also a High Opportunity Occupation. Paralegals support lawyers with research, interviews, transcriptions, and other responsibilities. As a paralegal, you can expect to see an average wage of $28.85 and 1,320 job openings. To become one, you can take our Paralegal program.
Community Support and Social Services
Social and community service workers work with vulnerable members of the community to help them get back on track and improve their lives. The median hourly wage for a social and community service worker is $20 and there are expected to be 11,020 new job openings. To work in this field, you can take our Community Support Worker – Social Services program to gain the education and training you need for the career.
After reading through all of these opportunities, are you interested in starting your own journey towards these career paths? If you answered yes, contact one of our advisors to learn more about how you can start today!
