The post Specific Job Markets That Grew Amidst COVID-19 appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.
]]>The continued recovery of both the nationwide and provincial job market relies on job creation. This activity is presently greatest among firms that have been able to:
Year-over-year since 2019, e-commerce/online retail in Canada has more than doubled while in-store sales dropped as much as 84.2%. Likewise, demand for niche digital services — like online gaming access — has nearly doubled. Online entertainment firms (like Netflix and Disney+), online professional services (like Zoom), and online personal services (like grocery delivery) have all also experienced dramatic increases in overall sales volume.
Given the widespread implementation of stay-at-home and self-isolation orders as the pandemic has developed, this comes as no surprise.
As self-isolation and quarantine orders have kept people at home, home renovation companies like Splash Contracting have experienced significant increases in demand. As a result, DIY home improvement stores in Canada have weathered the economic downturn remarkably well. For example, between May to July, Home Depot reported a 23% increase in revenue over the same period in 2019.
Nevertheless, growth within the home and garden industry has been restricted to online sales channels. Online sales for building and DIY materials and furniture — the staples of many home improvement projects — are approximately 625% greater than this time last year. Yet these same sectors saw decreases of 15.8% and 69.6%, respectively, in-store.
For Home Depot, this has meant a more than 100% increase in online purchases with 60% of digital sales fulfilled in-store and made available for pickup or final-mile delivery.
The fitness industry was particularly hard-hit at the outset of the pandemic.
Pre-pandemic, direct services (like fitness coaching, yoga/spin classes, and gyms) drove the fitness-related job market, leaving little room for niche sectors. Yet with market-leading providers unable to continue business-as-usual, historically “luxury” virtual fitness sectors have boomed; fitness-related job search drivers now include virtual fitness coaching, at-home personal training, and fitness app-related jobs.
For example, consumer demand for virtual fitness classes/apps, wearable fitness technology, at-home fitness equipment, and vitamins/supplements have all experienced considerable increases in sales. It follows that virtual fitness coaching firms that diversify into supplement and equipment retail, like Tone It Up, should thrive. Tone It Up, specifically, experienced a nearly 1000% increase in sales/service adoption during just the first few months of the outbreak.
Beauty consumers in Canada are demonstrating a significant tendency toward two niche beauty sectors — “clean” personal care and self-care/wellness — especially online-first brands/providers. As a result, the overall industry has seen an increase in sales (by up to 37%) and referrals (by about 64%) despite brick-and-mortar closures. Clean beauty continues to do remarkably well, while sales of self-care products have grown up to 32%.
Consequently, the availability of beauty industry jobs in Vancouver during the pandemic depends on companies’ ability to adapt to these new consumer preferences. Highly effective adaptations include:
For example, Lush Cosmetics — already a market-leader in clean- and wellness-type products — has rapidly expanded its online service capabilities. This has boosted sales/service volume so far as to surpass manufacturing/provision capabilities.
BCjobs.ca is Western Canada’s largest job board. For nearly 20 years, BC Jobs has connected job candidates with companies looking to add talent to their team. To support our candidates, we recently launched a podcast to help you stand out during your job application. Listen to weekly episodes on our podcast to hear what recruiters are thinking and what companies look for when considering their next hire. We also host free virtual events to support candidates, such as #HireMe2020, a series of live guest speaker events with all-star speakers from the top employers in BC and across Canada. Email community@bcjobs.ca to find out more.
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]]>The post Top 5 Jobs In The Technology Sector 2020 appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.
]]>Consequently, the forces currently driving job market growth within the technology sector include:
The entrenchment of the digital consumer is the most significant immediate and anticipated long-term impact of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. That is, successful businesses are already — and will continue — making significant adjustments to speed up digital accessibility and offerings, enhance digital customer experiences, and leverage data to better get ahead of rapidly changing consumer preferences. As a result, job market opportunities for tech-savvy (and tech-experienced) applicants are — and will continue to — boom.
Technology industry analysts predict that the future lies in customer-led automation. More than just robotics, customer-led automation relies on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It is no surprise, then, that the current job market for AI and machine learning specialists has grown by 85% in 2020, making it an increasingly popular and lucrative result in technology industry job searches.
This category includes user experience designers and site reliability engineers; the former being responsible for creating intuitive digital business platforms and the latter being responsible for testing and troubleshooting system issues that negatively impact consumers.
Job search parameters for these positions are unique in that they equally require both hard and soft skills. That said, the job market for “user experience designers” today is (expectedly) highly segmented and splintered.
These specialists design data capture, privacy, and storage solutions and also sort, analyze, and interpret a growing amount of increasingly critical data.
Even before the novel coronavirus outbreak, data science was the projected “king” of emerging job market opportunities in the technology sector. Now, with most firms and organizations making a rapid shift to digital operations, data science specialists have gained essential status.
Web developers (and job search candidates with web development skills) have long enjoyed stable job market growth. As consumer preferences (and pandemic-driven economic and social conditions) continue to favor mobile devices and e-commerce, the job market growth for qualified web developers is expected to outpace all other occupations. More specifically, the greatest job market opportunities will be for web developers with specialized skills in computer gaming, e-learning, and mobile app design.
That said, continuous innovation in the industry means that the characteristics of a “qualified” web developer are — and will likely remain — a moving target.
The unique skills cultivated by cloud storage specialists are increasingly valuable. As a result, back-end storage capabilities are expected to grow parallel to the increase in front-end functionality. And since front-end capabilities are often contingent on cloud storage, the job market for cloud storage specialist(s) is increasingly open.
Job search success in the technology industry depends on precision. Firstly, potential applicants must be precise in their acquisition of skills relevant to specialized requirements. Moreover,
those people interested in applying for technology industry jobs must be precise in their job search habits and composition; firms fill technology-related positions quickly because vacancy is costly.
More than just keeping an up-to-date resume, successful job search candidates should regularly inventory their skills and learn to articulate them so that fast-moving hiring managers take notice.
Simon Chou is the Vice President of Operations and Growth at BCjobs.ca. Over the course of his career, he carved a niche in brand development, marketing strategy, and online presence for startups. Prior to joining BCJobs.ca, Simon was an advisor for several global blockchain projects including Litecoin, NEM, and Ripple. In the past, he also worked with Fortune 500 companies in the healthcare space through SM Digital—a global marketing agency.
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