A recent Canadian government study has come up with occupations whose demand increased because of the pandemic in Alberta. Notably, many sectors were negatively impacted by corona-virus-related shutdowns, but some have brought about more job openings. However, the job market is in eternal flux, making these only short-term changes. The federal government has researched the effect of the pandemic on the labor force in each province and territory.
The occupations have been listed in order of their National Occupational Classification (NOC) code. To provide more information on specific job prospects, the federal government also provides a trend analysis tool where job seekers can access the trends in their occupations of interest. The following are the top ten Alberta Jobs that have increased in demand during the pandemic:
1. Computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213)
A computer and information systems manager involves overseeing and evaluating organization activities that administer digital software and other information systems. After the pandemic was declared in March 2020, employment in this sector was not affected.
2. Employment insurance, immigration, border services and revenue officers (NOC 1228)
When the pandemic started, there was an influx of applications for government programs, including Employment Insurance, the newly-created Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and others. These agents get employment from the government and enforce laws and regulations related to immigration, customs, border crossing, taxes, employment insurance and other benefits.
3. Information systems analysts and consultants (NOC 2171)
This is one of the sectors whose employment did not drop because of the pandemic. As a tech professional in this sector, you must test systems requirements and advise people on information system issues. You can be employed in tech consulting firms or get self-employed. As of April 2020, employment for this occupation was 47% higher compared to the previous year. The average employment continued to increase over the year.
4. Database analysts and data administrators (NOC 2172)
If you are employed in IT consulting firms as a database analyst, you are tasked with developing data management solutions while a data administrator implements administration policy, standards and models. In Alberta, being a database analyst and data administrator was not affected by the pandemic. Employment opportunities have since continued to grow, making it a good career path. Likewise, the shift to increasing technology and data usage among many organizations has also increased the demand for these professionals. With the increasing importance of information and database, the need for data analysts and administrators is bound to keep on growing.
5. Software engineers and designers (NOC 2173)
As a software engineer and designer, your responsibility is to integrate and maintain various software. Employment opportunities can be found in IT consulting and research and development firms. A self-employment is still an option in this career path. Thankfully, the tech industry in Alberta has been growing recently despite the pandemic. Currently, over 400 tech companies in Calgary might account for more than 2000 job vacancies.
