Job prospects Health Care Assistant in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "health care assistant" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Majority employed in nursing and residential care facilities
• Home health care service providers, hospitals, and individual and family services are also key employers

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Investments in long-term care homes
• Increased need for health-related services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
• Funding for hospitals and mental health services

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• First Aid, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and/or Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certifications are common requirements

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• Job duties may involve working long shifts and flexible hours.

Here are some key facts about Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates in Ontario:

• Approximately 107,350 people work in this occupation.
• Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 53%
  • Social assistance (NAICS 624): 14%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 13%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 12%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 71% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 28% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 62% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates work all year, while 38% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 12% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 88% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 20% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 24% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 33% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 15% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "health care assistant" in Ontario or across Canada.

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