Job prospects Support Services Assistant - Medical near Charlottetown (PE)

Over the past few years (2020-2022), there was a major labour shortage for Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates near Charlottetown (PE). There were far more job openings than workers available to fill them in this occupation.

Source Labour Market Information | Recent Trends Assessment Methodology

The employment outlook will be very good for Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102) in Prince Edward Island 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.

The prospect for employment in this occupation is very good as there continues to be a shortage of workers and unfilled vacancies in the province. The provincial government introduced The Resident Care Worker support program in 2022 which provides free tuition for training to help address labour shortages. Further, this occupation falls under the provincial Occupations in Demand immigration stream, which is a program designed to help employers fill vacant positions that they are unable to fill locally.

Most employees in this occupation worked in nursing and residential care facilities. Population growth and a steadily aging demographic are the primary drivers behind the increased demand for nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates. This trend will lead to stable job openings in hospitals, while a heightened need may occur in nursing homes and within community health care centres as patients receive ongoing care. This is a large occupational group on P.E.I. As with most large occupational groups, there will be frequent job opportunities due to workers leaving the group, job switching or moving into other career paths. Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates who are able to accommodate long shifts and work flexible hours will find their employment prospects greatly improved as hospitals may need these health professionals to provide 24-hour patient care.

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

• Approximately 1,800 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): 56%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 28%
  • Social assistance (NAICS 624): 8%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 78% compared to 84% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 22% compared to 16% for all occupations
• 67% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates work all year, while 33% work only part of the year, compared to 59% and 41% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 43 weeks compared to 41 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are self-employed compared to an average of 13% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 13% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 88% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 6% compared to 11% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 27% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 28% compared to 11% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 28% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 9% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology