Canada is facing a massive shortage of health care workers, and this has a direct impact on the job market. When you have an additional demand of workers in a particular field, you not only tend to see faster growth in salaries but also quicker career growth. Despite attracting foreign workers, the health care sector has been struggling to meet the high demand of the health care work force.
Whether you are looking for a career as a Community Support Worker or anything else, this blog will help you explore the health care industry of Canada. In this blog, we have explored why the health care industry is growing and how it is going to impact the job market in the coming years.
High Demand For Health Care Workers In Canada
The health care industry is divided into three major subsectors. Hospitals, ambulatory health care services, and nursing and residential care facilities. Hospitals provide diagnostic and medical treatment services; ambulatory health care services are those facilities that provide treatment to patients who do not need to stay in the facility and are able to leave independently after treatment, while nursing and residential care facilities mainly provide social and nursing services.
Canada was already facing the shortage of health care workers before the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the health care sector got overwhelmed after it. Health care workers faced unprecedented burnout rates, deaths due to the virus, absenses, early retirements, and high turnover. The government had to respond to this fast aggravating situation, and it did by increasing the funding for the health care system through all possible streams.
In February last year, the federal government announced that it would increase health care funding to provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding.
Not only the federal government, provincial governments are also increasing the health budgets and introducing programs through which they can attract more people to health care professions.
Why Is The Health Care Industry The Right Choice For You?
The health care industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Canada’s population is growing fast, and it is also getting older, due to which the demand for health care workers is expected to grow faster in the future. Higher demand means more growth opportunities. For example, the population of British Columbia is growing, and the shortage of staff should translate to new job opportunities.
By 2021, British Columbia had a health care workforce of 286,000 employees, which makes up 11.2% of the total employment in the provincial workforce. The outlook of health care jobs in the province looks good from a short to medium-term outlook, according to the Job Bank. This outlook is propelled by the fast aging population and rise in demand for hospitals and other facilities after the COVID-19 pandemic. New jobs are also created when workers retire or switch their jobs by acquiring higher skills.
What is encouraging about health care jobs is that one can get new growth opportunities after getting some experience. For instance, a medical laboratory assistant can move on to become a laboratory technologist or get into any supervisory role. This is how a worker can continue to learn skills and be able to increase its salary with experience.
Edison College Offers 7 Health Care Diploma Programs
If you are looking to enroll in a health care diploma program, then you do not need to go anywhere. Edison College offers seven excellent health care diploma programs that can help you make a strong career due to its accredited programs, up-to-date curriculum, and strong industry links of the college that play an important part in job placements of the students. Edison College’s health care programs are as follows:
- Community Support Worker Diploma
- Chairside Dental Assistant Diploma
- Medical Laboratory Assistant Diploma
- Medical & Dental Office Administrator Diploma
- Therapeutic Recreation Activity Assistant Diploma
- Health Care Assistant Diploma
- Health Care Assistant with Co-op Diploma
Conclusion
The fast growth in population in the last few years and the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly increased the demand for health care facilities like hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. Since the health care industry has been facing massive dearth of workers, the demand for health care workers will continue to grow. This industry has a promising future because of the aging population and the fact that the people are living longer than they did in the last few decades.
Join Edison College For Health Care Programs
If you are looking to join the growing health care industry of Canada, then check out the health care diploma programs that are offered by Edison College. The college has a legacy of over 50 years and the kind of industry links that few colleges could offer you as a student. If you have questions or concerns, you can contact us today to learn more about these programs.
Read more industry-related blogs here.
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