Why are skills important in Canada to land a job IN 2024?
Either on a professional front or for personal growth; acquiring skills is the most significant factor in 2024 that would differentiate oneself from the competition if you were looking for a job in Canada.
The development of skills is crucial if one wants to maximize potential and achieve career targets or goals. In this article, we will explore different types of skills and their importance in unlocking success.
Types of skills:
There are four main categories of skills:
Soft Skills-
Soft skills are generally considered to be how individuals express themselves in an organization. Soft skills are usually hard to measure or define and can be acquired through experience.
Hard Skills-
Hard Skills are technical abilities or certain skill sets that are easy to enumerate. These types of skills can be attained through training and are specific to a particular job or task.
Transferable Skills-
Transferable skills are also known as “portable skills,” and they are certain skills or qualities in an individual that can be transferred from one job to another. Transferable skills develop throughout one’s career and they can be utilized in every role you do.
Industry-specific skills-
Industry-specific talents are those aptitudes and know-how that people gain by education, training, or work experience and which allow them to work in a given industry.
Importance of skills in today’s Canadian job market –
In the quickly changing job market of today, employers look for candidates with the right technical capabilities, as this is a crucial step in finishing the task.
If you possess the necessary and unique skills, it would allow an individual to stand out from other candidates because, from an employer’s perspective, the possession of skills in an individual could contribute significantly to workplace success. Therefore, it might be simpler for an employer to decide whether to recruit that individual or not; based on specific skills and experience.
Importance of skills in today’s Canadian job market –
One of the main reasons for the shortage of skilled tradespeople is demographics. In other words, many skilled tradespeople are reaching retirement age, and there are not enough workers in the much younger age category who are willing to participate in the skilled trades.
As per Build Force Canada, about 22% of the current labour force is due to retire within the next 6-7 years, which would leave a gap of approximately 309,000 workers.
This gap could only be filled by new and young workers who are willing and ready to participate and contribute to the skilled trade shortage.
Challenges faced by current job seekers and employers:
- There is a lack of recognition of the value of work in skilled trades. An extensive level of study; training and apprenticeship is required in many fields of skilled trades, which could be difficult to obtain
- There is a lack of awareness among high school students and new immigrants about the opportunities available in skilled trades. Hence, they opt to pursue other degree/diploma courses at universities or colleges for their career paths rather than choosing careers in trades.s
- Despite accounting for 20% of Canada’s population; only 8.7% of the immigrants are being compromised in the apprenticeship programs.
- As technology advances, some of employers are finding it difficult to recruit skilled tradespeople who are up-to-date with the latest technology or otherwise supplement education programs for individuals to get equipped with the latest technology or skills. Due to a lack of funds, upskilling of an individual at smaller firms could prove to be challenging for an employer.
Why does a trade career make sense?
One of the key reasons a trade career makes sense is job security. As data suggested there will be s a shortage of 300,000 plus workers in the trade skilled profession indicating that the demand for young tradespeople is significant.
Many skilled tradespeople report high job satisfaction due to the involvement of creation and problem-solving elements. Tradespeople usually assume great responsibility in their roles over time which could shape them into leader and then they may go on to start their own business.
Several provincial and also federal govt are launching certain programs that could attract the young people to skilled trades. An individual who is looking to opt for a career path in trade-skilled jobs could benefit from these programs.
Conclusion
Skills are quickly becoming a mark of success as it tell an employer that an individual is capable of performing a job. As today's market is on the verge of transition, it is critical to acquire skills; prioritize on-the-job training, and embrace apprenticeships to create a workforce that possesses both theoretical and competitive abilities to obtain a major edge over the job seekers.
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