Job prospects Unit Assistant - Medical in British Columbia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "unit assistant - medical" in British Columbia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in British Columbia

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

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

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of 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.

• Continued growth and aging of British Columbia’s population will support demand for occupations in healthcare.
• The vacancy rate in health care remained higher than the average job vacancy rate across industries in early 2023. There were over 19,000 health care positions vacant across the province.

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

• Approximately 42,600 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): 46%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 26%
  • Social assistance (NAICS 624): 12%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 8%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 75% compared to 78% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 25% compared to 22% for all occupations
• 64% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates work all year, while 36% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 43 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are self-employed compared to an average of 17% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 15% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 85% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 20% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 31% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 23% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 18% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in British Columbia 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 an "unit assistant - medical" in British Columbia or across Canada.

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