

Americans do not have a particularly easy time getting jobs in Canada. I am not saying it’s impossible, mind you, just difficult. But, if you reside in one of the 50 plus countries of the British Commonwealth, you might have a much easier time getting the proper papers to be permitted to stay and work legally in Canada. Why would you want to do so? According to a recent article in the Globe and Mail, so-called “green jobs” are proliferating at such a rate there is a veritable shortage of suitable candidates.

It seems that these environmental jobs are not only for scientists anymore. Canadian employers are targeting multi-taskers, interdisciplinarians and passionate folks who want work to protect the environment as their ideal candidates. One thing is clear, however, the number of green job opportunities is growing considerably. According to Grant Trump, president of the Calgary-based Environmental Careers Organization of Canada:

“The opportunities in environmental careers are exploding. Demand is outstripping supply and it’s affecting industry’s ability to meet the environmental challenge. Right now, there are 530,000 jobs in Canada related to the environment, and we are projecting job growth over the next five years to increase by 8.8 per cent. This represents a rate that is 24-per-cent faster than the overall Canadian employment increase.”

This Canadian employee shortage might even open the door to more Americans who are actively seeking, but cannot find similar opportunities in a country that is talking a lot about green collar jobs without actually producing many of them. Speaking from first hand experience, I know that there is a wealth of opportunities in Canada right now in terms of research grants and graduate funding for disciplines in the traditional environmental disciplines as well as some of the less traditional ones.

Photo Credit: Zest-pk via flickr