70,000 Jobs in Canada Province Newfoundland & Labrador Projected in the Coming Decade

For those people dreaming of getting a job in Canada, you might want to have a closer eye on the province of Newfoundland & Labrador.

The province is expected to have 70, 000 job openings in the next 10 years as reported in thetelegram.com and based on the recent release of the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market: Outlook 2020.

Image from Dreamstime Free Photos

The government, businesses, job seekers and even students in this province and in Canada, in general, can refer to these projections in making plans for the future.

The projections revealed that hiring will peak at about 2015 with the highest need coming from utilities, health care and trade sector followed closely by manufacturing, accomodations, food service, transportation & warehousing and mining. Workers of all skill and education levels will be needed to address the employment demands of these sectors.

The decline of working age people in this province poses a great challenge to meet these future employment demands.

The priority will still be given to Newfoundland and Labrador residents. Afterwhich, other Canadian citizens or residents will be considered. And lastly, foreign workers via immigration.

Newfoundland and Labrador has an estimated population of 509,200 as of October 2010. Nine years from now, 65 years old or older is projected to comprise 45% of the province population.

Workers from within the province will not suffice to answer the 70,000 job demand projected in that time span. Migrant workers may want to have look at the labour market in Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada for better career opportunities in the future .

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Saudization/NITAQAT Thoughts & Lessons

I spent the better part of my afternoon reading about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Saudization Program or NITAQAT online.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Coat of Arms
Image from wikipedia

NITAQAT is a major labor policy being implemented by the government of Saudi Arabia to address the large percentage of jobless young Saudis (citizens of KSA). The program compels private companies to increase the percentage of Saudis they employ, affecting all foreign workers including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Under the Nitaqat, the Saudi Ministry of Labor will classify some 300,000 local companies into four categories: excellent, green (complying companies), yellow (partially complying) and red (non-complying companies), with each one required to employ a minimum number of Saudi citizens based on company size and the occupations of the company’s workers.

Yellow-coded companies will not be able to renew the work visas of foreign workers beyond six years, while red-coded companies will no longer be allowed to renew the work visas of their foreign workers.

On the other hand, excellent- and green-coded companies may recruit foreign workers who are already in Saudi from the red- and yellow-coded companies---even without the consent of the workers’ sponsors and even if the workers have not worked for at least two years under their sponsors.

Red-coded companies are given until December 11 to improve their Saudization ratios before restrictions come into effect, while yellow-coded companies have until March 11, 2012 to comply.

- Source: Interaksyon.net

The Philippine government - through DOLE & OWWA statements - are trying to allay fears on the adverse effect of the Saudization program. I am one of those who believe that it will have an effect.

There are some contentions among comment boards that the program will lead to the downfall of small and medium business in the kingdom because Saudis will demand a much higher compensation compared to foreign workers such as Filipinos.

Others are saying that the displacement of foreign workers will only be temporary as young saudis are portrayed as less skilled, less interested about the job, and are not hard workers.

The implications of this Saudization program to OFWs, their respective families and the Philippine economy affords us some important lessons.

• Work Contract Overseas is not forever.
• An OFW and his/her family should save money and should invest for their future.
• An OFW must strive to develop his/her skill to be more employable in other countries.
• The Philippine economy can not forever rely on OFW remittance for help, making it imperative for the government to make the country more suitable for small and medium enterprise to generate local jobs.
  
• Returning OFWs can help create local jobs by starting their own businesses here.
  

This site hopes that most, if not all, OFWs in KSA work on companies that fall under the excellent or green categories. That employers of those OFWs working under companies under the yellow category can comply within the time period allowed. And that those unfortunate to work for companies under the red category, can get absorbed by complying companies.

Otherwise, Saudization/Nitaqat affected OFWs would have no choice but return to the Philippines and compete with other hard-luck OFWs and jobless Filipinos for local jobs like this DOLE list.

Here a good article about Saudization/Nitaqat.

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Filipino Seafarers Can Look for Better Days

The future looks bright for Filipino seafarers because of initiatives that could increase the wage they will get and upgrade their professional skills.

The minimum wage of seafarers stand to get an increase as the International Labor Organization saw its necessity.

An international agreement has been reached on an increase in the ILO Minimum Basic Wage for seafarers at a meeting of the Joint Maritime Commission Sub-Committee on Wages of Seafarers in Geneva on 26-27 April.

The current ILO minimum basic wage for an AB covering 48 hours of work will increase from US$545 to $555 on 1 January 2012, to $568 on 1 January 2013 and eventually to $585 on 31 December 2013.

- from Nautilus International

Filipino seafarers have already established a solid reputation in maritime service in terms of competence, professionalism and dedication. International shipping companies who would prefer Filipino seamen are expected to adhere to internationally accepted laws and standards governing the industry.

On the local front, the government appear serious in supporting our seafaring industry.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr. has announced that the national government is committed in further developing the professional skills of Filipino seafarers.

He said this is being done by investing in world-class training modules and facilities which are vital to improving the expertise of the country’s mariners.

- from Positive News Media

One of the current problems faced by local seafarers is the serious issue of piracy in Somalia.

Among the measures undertaken by the government is to make arrangements with ship principals and manning agencies for vesselto travelalong a safety corridor and to adopt best management practicess as a deterrence to piracy attacks.

The Philippine government has likewise taken up the issue of maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean before the United Nations and other international organizations.

Also, the UN Security Council continues with its Anti-piracy campaign specifically against armed-robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia.

These things make me feel that Filipino Seafarers can look ahead to better days in the near future.

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Marketing Jobs not only for StartUps But Companies Stuck With Traditional Marketing

Today's post is different. For the first time this is for employers. I'd like to echo the idea of hiring personnel for marketing jobs I read from Mashable, not only for startups but to companies that still have yet to explore online exposure.

Online Marketing Jobs Can Help Both StartUps & Traditional-Marketing Companies
Image from flickr

In the article, Ms. Anna Lindow enumerated five marketing professionals that startup should consider hiring namely:

• Copywriter
  
• Copyeditor
  
• Facebook Marketer
  
• SEO Consultant
  
• E-mail Marketing Specialist
  

I used to be a staff for an online marketing team. I have seen first hand the benefits of having an online presence. It can really do wonders for any company in terms of establishing its name, building reputation, strengthening ties with customers and investors and fundamentally enjoying additional revenue.

I hope that most companies realized that consumers are becoming more internet savvy and that having little or totally no online presence means losing ground to competitors who do. These five marketing positions when filled with the right people can help startups drop that tag immediately and be an established company amongst the big leaguers in their industry.

Companies engaged only in traditional marketing should also explore the possibilities online and start offering marketing jobs.

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Labor Day 2011 Job Fair, WHERE?

I'm sorry that I am a little bit annoyed.

I'd really like to help the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) get the word out about the Job and Livelihood Fair which is going to be the centerpiece event of the Labor Day 2011 celebrations this coming May 1, 2011.

But I find the information dissemination about it wanting.

Job & Livelihood Fair - Labor Day 2011
Department of Labor & Employment

DOLE, in a press release, is encouraging job seekers to pre-register online for the nationwide job fair. So, it will be nationwide. But where? Is it so hard to put the specific venues where these job seekers would go to on the day of the job fair? Or are the venues still to be determined?

In another press release, DOLE says that Labor Day 2011 is now on Facebook & Twitter but did not provide live links that will lead to those respective webpages. I feel that job seekers who use the internet looking for job opportunites and job fairs can get served better if they can get the specific information in a few clicks of the mouse.

Is it just me, asking too much? Or the DOLE really needs to improve their press releases and ensure that they provide specific information faster for job seekers?

Interested Filipino job seekers are encouraged to pre-register here. And hopefully, they will be informed where to go to for the job fair very soon.

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Chemical Engineering Career in Canada

A chemical engineer is a good career to aspire for and to pursue because of the opportunities it brings one and chemical engineering-related careers will be in demand in Canada after 2011 to 2020.

When I was taking up engineering, most of the professors and fellow students I asked cited chemical engineering to be the most difficult field of engineering. Remembering my high school chemistry days of redux and balancing chemical equations just made me nod my head in approval.

But I recently found out that chemical engineering offered a lot of career possibilities. A degree in chemical engineering can land you in good engineering positions in the oil industry, petrochemicals, and biomedical work.

For those looking to land good chemical engineering jobs, they ought to emulate Ryan Martin, now a production engineer in Enerplus. He rightfully chose chemical engineering in college because he saw the avenues it can open up for him, learned as much as he could and is now reaping the fruits of his decision and persevarance at Enerplus, one of Canada's oldest and largest independent oil and gas producers.

The Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada reports that,

The petroleum industry will continue to provide significant job opportunities through 2020. The industry's aging workforce will drive significant replacement demand. And that key engineering roles such mechanical engineers, chemical engineers and petroleum engineers will expericence shortages after 2011 and through 2020.

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2 Million New US Jobs This Year

After the relatively good news about the increase of Canadian jobs, here's another positive news. There's one economist that sees the US economy adding two million new US jobs in 2011.

Scott Brown, said to be the most accurate forecaster of jobless rate in the past two years, sees the increased consumer spending will factor primarily in generating two million new US jobs.

In other words, Americans should spend more in order for businesses to notice the demand for their products which in turn will convince them to add more jobs. Proof of the increased consumer spending were the increased gate attendance on Disney theme parks and increased advertising in cable networks. I'm sure the Super Bowl helped.

This may sound advocating materialism, but I realized seasonal spending, like in this upcoming valentines, has its own positive effect. I am a sportsfan myself and I think that the line-up of upcoming big sporting events such as the March Madness & the NBA finals, can contribute to increase advertising revenues and sale of sport merchandize.

I hope that Scott Brown would be right about the two million new US jobs which I think the other economists would'nt mind being wrong about.


Bloomberg article & wikimedia image were referenced for this post.

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Can You Afford to Choose your Next Job?

Jobs are unlike destiny because, more often than not, getting one isn't a matter of choice. Landing a job is usually a matter of necessity. Or so I thought.

But in a surprising recent survey, jobseekers still turned out to be idealistic when it comes to looking for employers or companies. Most of those surveyed said will opt for a job they love, flexible sched or telecommute and get hired by eco-conscious green companies.

But even with this idealism of sorts, job seekers surveyed were practical enough to know when they need to settle for other positions. They were amenable to shift in careers and in giving up some benefits to get the job.

Well, I can only give my hat off to, arguably, the gutsiest job applicant ever - Ms. Marisol Valles Garcia. Virtually telling to my face that she could choose the job she wants.

How about you? Can you afford to choose your next job?

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Labor Day 2010, President Obama's Jobs Program & Future In Demand Jobs

On the occasion of the Labor day, American workers and employees should pause and remember those that paved the way for what they enjoy now - work holidays, off days, eight-hour job, insurance, pension and other benefits.

It is imperative that part of this holiday be set aside for its real purpose before the picnicking and football that has now become the norm.

In related news, President Barack Obana announced today his job-creation program to address the high demand for jobs pending support of Congress. Now more than ever, the government and Congress should set aside politics & election, and work together to create jobs for American workers.

If the President's plan - $50 billion infrastructure rebuilding plan - will push through, construction jobs and related positions will be in demand in the next 12 months.

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