Infocentre

Preparation

In this part, we deal with Labour Market Information, Researching Potential Employers and Types of Employment.

Labour Market Information

In Canada, employment is governed, to a large degree, by the free market exchange of labour between individuals and organizations. The term "Labour Market Information" refers not to the specific value of any skills (that is the Labour Market Value) but, rather, to the specific demand for particular skills.

Labour Market Information is available for three distinct geographical levels: nationally, provincially, and locally. In other words, information on demand for certain skills is available at the national, provincial and local levels. In many cases, the actual demand for skills varies dramatically between these levels.

Researching Potential Employers

Researching potential employers is crucial in order to survive and prosper in the Canadian job market. This requirement stems from the fact that the labour market is a free market where any particular organization may disappear.

Learning about companies is crucial for other reasons as well. Knowledge of what a company does and where it is positioned in the market is critical when you are being interviewed. For the past 30 years there has been an increasing trend whereby companies will not hire people who have not done corporate research and, as a consequence, are unfamiliar with the company.

Types of Employment

Since the end of the 1960's, there has been a shift in the composition of employment in Canada. In the 1960's, the major form of employment was full time employment where an individual would work for a single company in a long term employment relationship. During the 1970's and into the early 1980's there was a major shift away from full time employment to other forms. This trend continues to the present.

In addition to full time employment, Canadians are frequently involved in three other forms of employment: part time employment, temporary employment and contract employment. While full time employment continues to be the employment contract of choice, it is increasingly difficult to find.

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