Industries, Regions, & Occupations With High Job Opportunities in B.C: British Columbia’s latest Labour Market Outlook (LMO) predicts over one million job openings in the next ten years. It will create opportunities for students and job seekers to enhance their skills and grow in their careers.

The LMO is a 10-year forecast that provides up-to-date information to the B.C government to make informed decisions on future career paths. It also assists governments and businesses in allocating resources to support the future workforce.

Projections suggest that a post-secondary degree or equivalent will be necessary for about 80% of these upcoming job openings. To better prepare for the future, job seekers, students, employers, and business owners can use the new interactive career transition tool.

It is available in various languages, helps find in-demand jobs, and guides employers in business planning. Additionally, educators can ensure programs meet the skill requirements of the province’s growing economy.

According to the B.C Labour Market Outlook, the industries, regions and occupations with the most opportunities are below.

Industries with most job openings

Below are 10 industry groups with the most job openings in the next 10 years, ranked in the order of most to least:

health care and social assistance
professional, scientific and technical services
retail trade
construction
accommodation and food services
transportation and warehousing
educational services
information, culture and recreation
finance, insurance and real estate
manufacturing

B.C Regions with most jobs opportunities

Each B.C region is expected to have thousands of job growth. However, the largest number of job openings are the Mainland/Southwest (65%) and Vancouver Island/Coast (16%). Below is the information on job openings on all B.C regions.

The job openings are distributed between regions as follows:
- Mainland/Southwest: 653,200 job openings
- Vancouver Island/Coast: 161,500 job openings
- Thompson-Okanagan: 115,600 job openings
- Kootenay: 25,400 job openings
- Cariboo: 20,400 job openings
- North Coast and Nechako: 15,200 job openings
- Northeast: 12,300 job openings

Occupations with the highest opportunities

The LMO produces a list of high-opportunity occupations, broken down by education and training requirements.
These occupations are considered the best job opportunities for British Columbians within the next decade.
The top three occupations by job openings in each category are:
degree:
- registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- information systems analysts and consultants
- computer programmers and interactive media developers

diploma/certificate, excluding apprenticeship:
- retail and wholesale trade managers
- administrative officers
- nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

apprenticeship certificate:
- automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers
- contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
- aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors