The hottest Canadian labour sectors are…

Do you have any engineers or construction workers as clients?

If so, tell them they can count themselves as lucky; even as employment rates have slowed in Canada—stalling in May after two months of gains—these two sectors were voted “most likely to succeed” and “most popular” by Canadians.

So, while they may be worried about the current economy, these workers still managed to score and retain jobs in the hottest employment sectors in Canada, says a new Randstad Canada survey. Almost half (48%) of survey respondents praised their long-term job security and superior working atmosphere.

High-tech manufacturing followed in second place (47%), but did rank first for competitive salary, career progression opportunities and strong management. Transport and logistics (46%), raw materials (43%) and services (42%) also made the list of top sectors in the country.

Canada’s internal data supports this vote, says Mike Winterfield, president of Randstad Professionals. “Demand for employment candidates among our clients in the engineering and construction sector increased 18% in Q1 2012, over last year.”

He adds, “This boost in the these areas means the need for more experienced and talented professionals to power up the industry.”

The financial sector, on the other hand, will see little growth this year in terms of staff, says the latest Robert Half Financial Hiring Index. It expects the number of full-time employees in accounting and finance to remain little changed in Q3 2012.

The vast majority (87%) of Canadian CFOs expect to maintain current staff levels this year, with only 5% planning to add employees to their teams and 3% anticipating staff decreases.

Additionally, nearly four in 10 (38%) execs say they face a challenging recruiting environment, up from 32% over last quarter.

As Randstad has suggested, execs in the construction industry expect to do the most hiring in Q3 2012. Almost a quarter of CFOs in the sector (22%) will add staff this coming year.

Winterfield says there’s a shortage of skilled workers, however, despite the acclaim of the two popular markets. “The greatest demand is for construction management, electrical estimators, industrial designers and project manager roles.”

In order for Canadian sectors to compete globally and maintain long-term growth, these roles will need to be filled by highly skilled workers. Companies with a talent management strategy in place will be better equipped for the future, he says, and will also be more attractive to potential investors.

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