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Unparalleled Workforce

Devoted, motivated and highly educated is how we describe our workforce. Saint John, New Brunswick like many other small North American centres has seen its economic base change significantly over the past 10 years; from a traditional manufacturing base, the region has transitioned to a much more diverse knowledge-based economy.

Since 1996 the unemployment rate has dropped from 12.1% to 6.6%. The Information and Communications Technology sector in Saint John employs 8,000 people and is conservatively expected to grow significantly. The manufacturing and construction sectors employed more than 9,000 people in 2004 – an increase of 5% over the previous year.

Some of our region’s workforce statistics:

• Saint John boasts one of the largest and fastest growing bilingual populations east of Quebec (18,500 strong);
• 2006 Total labour force 15 years and over: 56,400
• 2005 Labour Force Annual Average Income: $28,450;
• Our workforce is well educated with the population 15 years and over:
• 3.7% have a trades certificate or diploma;
• 23.5% have some college educations (18.7% of which have a diploma or certificate); and
• 25.2% have some university (12.8% of which have a bachelor’s degree or higher);
• The diversification of the workforce by industry (2006 Census Data):
  • Retail & Wholesale 17.8%
  • Manufacturing & Construction 14.2%
  • Education 5.7%
  • Health Care 13%
  • Administrative & Management 9%; and
  • The average unemployment rate for 2006 was 8.6%

New Brunswick, as a province, is renowned for the following trends:

• One of the lowest rates of worker-initiated turnover in Canada - less than 10%;
• New Brunswick workers remain in their jobs twice as long as the Canadian average;
• On average, 65% of residents have been with their current employer for more than four years;
• Low absenteeism rates, with only 7.3 days lost per worker per year and as much as 20% less than Western Canadian provinces; and
• 66% of New Brunswick’s population is under the age of 45.

Enterprise Saint John has two programs aimed specifically to work with existing business in our community; Workforce Expansion Initiative and Labour Force Development.

Saint John has developed an excellent learning environment and has a network of education and training facilities that work with the business community to meet the labour market needs. New Brunswick’s four universities, nine community colleges and over 100 private training institutions are well known across Canada for providing high quality education to over 35,000 students.

Universities
Throughout New Brunswick, 18,000 full-time students and 4,700 part-time students attend the four prominent public universities annually. These universities offer a variety of educational programs such as information technology, health sciences, engineering, forestry, marine biology, law, arts, and social work.

UNB Saint John, a campus of the University of New Brunswick established in 1969, offers a wide range of undergraduate courses, and is international; with students hailing from over 40 countries, programming offered in Beijing, Cairo and Trinidad and the student abroad program our students are truly keeping pace with the world. UNBSJ is also the first university in North America to offer a graduate and undergraduate degree in electronic commerce.

New Brunswick Community Colleges
New Brunswick’s ten community colleges provide technical and industrial training of the highest quality. More than 100 regular training programs, plus a selection of industry-oriented, short-term training services are available.

NBCC Saint John is the largest of the provincial network and offers a range of programs from technology and machinery to electronics, computer science and graphic design. Our college works with business and industry to ensure a skilled workforce for tomorrow.

Through industry partnerships New Brunswick ’s private training institutions, universities and colleges will develop specific courses and training programs to match workforce requirements.

Resources for Employers When Hiring

Employment Agencies – Saint John
Adecco Employment Services
Advantage Personnel
Devine Associates Incorporated
Executive Services Plus Ltd.
Kelly Services (Canada), Ltd.
Manpower Professional
Personal Search
Robertson Surrette

Job Banks


New Brunswick Job Futures
New Brunswick Job Futures is a career planning tool. Its purpose is to provide occupational information  and provide the reader with reliable and current labour market conditions with an aim to enable persons in their personal and professional career development.

Saint John / New Brunswick / Canadian Newspapers On-Line
Canada East (NB Newspapers): www.canadaeast.com
Fredericton : www.dailygleaner.com
Moncton : www.timestranscript.com
Saint John : www.telegraphjournal.com
L’Acadie Nouvelle, NB Francophone: www.acadienouvelle.com
Le Saint-Jeanois, Saint John Francophone: www.arcf-sj.org/saint-jeannois/
The Globe & Mail: www.theglobeandmail.com

Human Resource Contacts

Service Canada (formerly Human Resources and Skills Development Canada )
211 Waterloo Street
1 Agar Place
Saint John , NB E2L 4V4
Phone: (506) 636-4595
Fax: (506) 636-3808
Web Site: www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/home.shtml

Department of Post Secondary Education and Training 
1 Agar Place
PO Box 5001
Saint John , NB E2L 4Y9
Phone: (506) 643-7258
Fax: (506) 643-7443
Web Site: www.gnb.ca/0105/index-e.asp

Additional Websites  
SaintJohnLifeOnYourTerms.ca
A dynamic resource that showcases our community, where you are free to live the life that is true to you.

Labour Market Information
Answer your questions about jobs, skills and the availability of workers in local areas across Canada . Also provides information on wage rates and job descriptions.