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  • Career Profile: Patternmaker

    Career Profile: Patternmaker

    Patternmakers in this unit group create master patterns for the production of garments, footwear and other textile, leather or fur products.

    Examples of Occupational Titles
    -dress patternmaker
    -embroidery patternmaker
    -fur garment patternmaker
    -garment patternmaker
    -leather products patternmaker
    -shoe patternmaker
    -textile products patternmaker

    Sources of Employment
    Job opportunities will result mainly from the need to replace patternmakers who will be retiring or leaving this occupation to work in other occupations or because they have been promoted to fashion designer or management positions in the clothing industry.

    People can advance their careers somewhat within the same occupation. Thus some applicants in this occupation start out as graders responsible for adapting patterns to different sizes, before obtaining positions as patternmakers.

    Industries
    According to census data, in 2006 more than 75% of patternmakers – textile, leather and fur products worked in manufacturing, primarily in the clothing industry (approximately 68%). As well, 12% worked in the clothing retail and wholesale trade and 6% in design services. Since jobs in design services and in retail and wholesale trade are also related to the manufacture of garments, generally in companies that sell clothing, and design clothing lines and prepare their own patterns before contracting out the production, it can be concluded that in 2006 more than 85% of jobs in this occupation were related to the manufacture of clothing.

    There are proportionally many more patternmakers in the women’s and children’s clothing industries than there are in the men’s clothing industry. In fact, the men’s clothing industry usually has a much smaller selection of varieties and styles, and is characterized by mass production.

    Education and Training
    It is possible for candidates to find work in this occupation if they have extensive experience in the clothing industry. However, considering the growing use of computer tools in this occupation, successful completion of specialized training is increasingly required.

    Thus employers usually require at least a vocational diploma (DEP) in apparel design. A diploma of collegial studies (DEC) in fashion design are sometimes required. The DEC is an important asset for promotion to fashion designer or supervisory positions.

    Basic knowledge or experience of garment construction may be required, as patternmakers are sometimes asked to sew samples and to alter patterns in order to maximize the cost-effectiveness of sewing activities.

  • Non-Red Seal Trades

    Non-Red Seal Trades

    There is more to the trades than you think – here are other jobs that are part of the trade industry. See if one feels right for you! Click through to see more information on select trades from Service Canada, and check back each month as we feature profiles of some of these exciting careers right here on Jobs People Do.

    Construction Sector
    –Cement (concrete) Finisher
    -Concrete Pump Operator
    –Construction Millwright
    –Electrician (Domestic and Rural)
    -Exterior Insulated Finishing Systems Mechanic
    -Hazardous Materials Worker
    –Heat and Frost Insulator
    – Heavy Equipment Operator
    – Dozer Operator
    – Excavator Operator
    – Tractor Loader, Backhoe Operator
    -Native Residential Construction Worker
    –Painter and Decorator: Industrial
    -Precast Concrete Erector
    –Precast Concrete Finisher
    –Refractory Mason
    –Residential Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic
    –Residential (low rise) Sheet Metal Installer
    -Restoration Mason

    Industrial Sector
    -Bearings Mechanic
    –Blacksmith
    -CNC Programmer
    -Composite Structures Technician
    –Die Designer
    –Draftsperson (Mechanical, Plastic Mould Design, Tool and Die Design)
    -Electrical Control (Machine) Builder
    -Electrician – Signal Maintenance (TTC)
    -Elevating Devices Mechanic
    -Entertainment Industry Power Technician
    -Facilities Mechanic
    -Facilities Technician
    –Fitter-Assembler(Motor Assembly)
    –Gas Technician
    -Hydraulic/Pneumatic Mechanic
    -Light Rail Overhead Contact System Lineperson (TTC)
    -Locksmith
    -Machine Tool Builder and Integrator
    -Mould Designer
    -Mould Or Die Finisher
    -Mould Maker
    -Optics Technician (Lens and Prism Maker)
    –Packaging Machine Mechanic
    –Pattern Maker
    -Precision Metal Fabricator
    -Pressure Systems Welder
    -Process Operator (Food Manufacturing; Power; Refinery, Chemical and Liquid Process; Wood Products)
    -Pump Systems Installer/Mechanic
    –Railway Car Technician
    -Relay and Instrumentation Technician
    -Roll Grinder/Turner
    -Saw Filer/Fitter
    -Ski Lift Mechanic
    –Surface Blaster
    –Surface Mount Assembler
    -Thin Film Technician
    –Tool And Cutter Grinder
    -Tool And Gauge Inspector
    –Tool/Tooling Maker
    –Tractor Trailer Commercial Driver
    –Water Well Driller

    Motive Power Sector
    –Alignment and Brakes Technician
    –Auto Body Repairer – Br.2
    -Automotive Electronic Accessory Technician
    –Automotive Glass Technician
    –Marine Engine Mechanic
    -Motive Power Machinist
    -Powered Lift Truck Technician
    –Small Engine Technician
    -Tire, Wheel and Rim Mechanic
    –Transmission Technician
    -Turf Equipment Technician

    Service Sector
    -Aboriginal Child Development Practitioner
    –Agriculture – Dairy Herdsperson
    –Agriculture – Fruit Grower
    –Agriculture – Swine Herdsperson
    –Arborist
    –Baker
    -Bicycle Mechanic
    –Chef
    –Child and Youth Worker
    -Child Development Practitioner
    –Cook – Assistant Br. 1
    –Developmental Services Worker
    –Educational Assistant
    –Electronic Service Technician
    -Gem Setter/Goldsmith
    -Hardware, Lumber and Building Materials Retailer
    –Service Sector Horse Groomer
    -Horse Harness Maker
    –Information Technology (Hardware Technician,  Network Technician)
    –Institutional Cook
    -IT Contact Centre (Customer Care Agent, Sales Agent, Technical Support Agent)
    -Micro-Electronics Manufacturer
    -Native Clothing and Crafts Artisan
    -Network Cabling Specialist
    –Pool and Hot Tub/Spa Installer
    –Pool and Hot Tub/Spa Service Technician
    –Retail Meat Cutter
    -Saddlery
    –Special Events Coordinator
    -Utility Arborist
    -Wooden Boat Rebuilder/Repairer

  • Career Profile: Social Worker

    Career Profile: Social Worker

    Helping people can be a satisfying experience. You probably know the good feeling you get when you help your grandparents or friends with jobs that need to be done, such as raking leaves in the yard or helping them move to a new home. You might not enjoy everything about the job itself, but in the end, you can feel good about doing something to help people in need. If you enjoy helping people, even with difficult or unpleasant tasks, a career as a social worker might be right for you.

    Becoming a social worker is a bit like helping friends and family with the things they need to have done. Not everything that social workers do is pleasant or even safe. Sometimes they have to deal with dangerous situations and  it may seem as if nothing they do can help improve people’s lives. However, all of these struggles are part of their job.

    Basically, social workers help people in crisis. They might go into the hospital to help someone who needs assistance in everyday tasks because of an accident or major illness. In Canada, about 85% of social workers are in hospitals. Others take children from dangerous homes and find them safe places to live. Social workers help unemployed people, the homeless, people with physical or mental disabilities, young people who have committed crimes, and many others. To do this, they often work with counselors, psychologists, and other professionals.

    For each person or family that social workers help, they have to make a plan. They decide what information to give on government programs or arrange for meetings with a counsellor who can help people with their family, employment, or personal problems. It usually means spending time with the client (the person in need) to see what help is necessary. People are all different, and social workers have to try to find out the best treatment for each one. Over the next months or years, the social workers have to keep on checking in with the client to make sure that everything is working and report back to other people working in the field. Often, this means that they spend a lot of time writing reports on what they have done.

    Many people do social work without ever having official training. Someone who washes the dishes at a homeless shelter, for example, is doing social work. However, becoming a full-time, official social worker usually requires university training to learn the theories and principles of the field. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in social work or social services is often necessary for high-level jobs, although many lower-level workers often need no special education.

    A career in social work can be difficult, but it can have many rewards. If you like working with people and want to help them, it might be a good career path to consider.

  • Career Profile: Blacksmiths and Die Setters

    Career Profile: Blacksmiths and Die Setters

    Blacksmiths forge a variety of metal items, such as tools, chains, wrought iron fixtures, agricultural implements and structural components. Die setters set up forging machines, such as forging presses, drop hammers, forging rolls and upsetters. They are employed primarily by fabricated metal products, machinery and transportation equipment manufacturing companies.

    Main Duties
    Blacksmiths perform some or all of the following duties:
    -Heat metal items in forge
    -Hammer, punch, cut or otherwise form metal workpieces into desired shapes and sizes
    -Forge special tools from metal or devise special jigs or fixtures
    -Temper, harden or anneal forged items
    -Shape metal using power forging machinery.

    Die setters perform some or all of the following duties:
    -Select dies for forging according to work order and specifications
    -Position, align and bolt dies to ram and anvil of power presses and hammers
    -Check initial operation of forging machine to ensure that machine is set up properly for use by forging machine operators.

    Employment Requirements
    -Completion of secondary school is usually required.
    -On-the-job training is provided.
    -Several years of experience as a forging machine operator may be required.

  • Career Profile: Tourism Promoter

    Career Profile: Tourism Promoter

    Job Description
    A tourism promoter is someone who promotes tourism for a specific area by developing and organizing many of the events and attractions that draw tourists to that location. The other responsibilities of a tourism promoter are quite extensive and require a lot of communication and partnership with businesses, the local community and the public.
    Some of the other duties of a tourism promoter include:
    • Promoting potential and functioning tourist attractions through various advertising campaigns
    • Researching the overall approval rate of existing attractions in order to discover where improvements need to be made
    • Using the views, interests, and history of the local people to influence the development of new attractions
    • Advising local tourism businesses on what they can do to contribute to the overall tourism of the area
    • Writing press releases and articles for tourism guides, magazines, and newsletters; organizing special events, holiday shows, exhibitions, and festivals (attendance is often required)

    Salary and Conditions
    The salaries of tourism promoters differ based on factors such as the location, the employer, and the amount of tourists that the location receives. However, the average starting salary of a tourism promoter is around $26,000-$30,000. After about two years of work, the salary may increase to about $35,000-$40,000 and after five years, $45,000-$58,000. In some cases, quality of work may positively or negatively influence the salary. Typically, a tourism promoter works a 37 hour week. Since the job requires a lot of involvement with planning, organizing, and attending social events, many additional hours may be spent working. The majority of work is done in an office or a similar environment. Sometimes the job calls for work to be done at various locations around the community or at specific attraction sites. Most tourism promoters work individually but it is not uncommon for them to work in teams.

    Just like any other career, working as a tourism promoter has both advantages and disadvantages. Some of the benefits are being able to travel overseas to other tourist attractions, receiving invitations to exclusive exhibitions, and events, and receiving credit for new successful attractions. Some of the disadvantages are having to meet strict deadlines, dealing with criticism from the public and the media, working late nights, and having your presence mandatory at certain events. One of the main disadvantages has to do with the fact that a tourism promoter is not necessarily needed everywhere in the world. So a job in this career may be relatively difficult to find.

    Education
    A career as a Tourism Promoter is an option for all graduates and people with a diploma. However, achievements in certain subjects can significantly increase the probability of getting a job as a tourism promoter. Some of those subjects are tourism management, archive and museum studies, business management, journalism, modern languages, marketing, media studies, town planning, urban/rural regeneration, and environmental/sustainability studies.

    Having extensive post-secondary education may not be as important for tourism promoters, but experience and communication skills play a major role in this type of job. Activities such as helping at social events, working with tourism-related businesses, and being familiar with local attractions can be considered experience.

    If you think tourism promotion could be right for you, do more research on the field and start working toward your dream career!

  • Career Profile: Translator/Interpreter

    Career Profile: Translator/Interpreter

    If you attend a typical Canadian school, you have probably spent some time studying another language. Learning another language is a good way to expand your knowledge and to practice skills like memorization, which you might need in other parts of your life. It can even lead to a career as a translator or interpreter.

    Have you ever tried to talk to someone who was unable to understand your language? Maybe your grandparents came from a different country and never learned to speak English well. Maybe some classmates or neighbours have just moved to Canada and speak a different language. Sometimes, you can manage to communicate by pointing at things and maybe drawing pictures of what you want. However, this method can be very limited, and people can easily misunderstand what the others are saying. This is why translators and interpreters do work that is very important. They help people who know one language to understand what people from another language are saying.

    Translation and interpretation are basically two parts of the same field of work, but translators generally deal with written language and interpreters deal with spoken language. Translators might work in government offices, schools, or other places where documents need to be translated from one language to another. Interpreters work directly with people, translating speeches as they are being given or helping deaf people to speak with hearing people. Translators can consult dictionaries or stop and think about the best words to use, but interpreters need to be able to think quickly and to translate words as soon as the speaker says them.

    Becoming a translator or interpreter takes a lot of skill but not much education. A high school diploma is often enough, although a bachelor’s degree might be necessary in some cases. Some employers might also prefer to hire people who have taken special courses in translation skills through language institutes and community colleges. In Canada, certification as a translator or interpreter is also available through the Canadian Translators, Terminologist and Interpreters Council.

    The main requirement for most translators and interpreters is language fluency. People who want to work in this field must know at least two of the world’s 6500 languages – their own and one other. If they know more languages, however, their chances of finding work are far higher than if they know only two. The level of fluency is also important. Someone who knows medical terminology in several languages, for example, might be able to get work as an interpreter in a hospital. Someone whose knowledge of the language is more basic, however, might want to work in a school, helping parents and teachers communicate with each other. Since it can take a lifetime to get to know a language thoroughly, some translators and interpreters specialize in certain topics, like sports or history. Depending on where they work, translators and interpreters might make between $26,000 and $58,000 per year.

    Do you love languages? If you want to become a translator or interpreter, it’s never too early to start practicing your language skills.

  • Career Profile: Psychiatrist

    Career Profile: Psychiatrist

    Do you consider yourself a good listener? Do your friends usually come to you when there’s something troubling them? Do you really enjoy helping people and making a difference in their lives? If you’ve answered yes to most of these questions, then you might want to consider a career as a psychiatrist!

    A psychiatrist is a type of doctor that deals with people suffering from mental and emotional disorders. They are responsible for diagnosing and treating patients who suffer from a wide variety of problems. Some of these problems include schizophrenia, paranoia, hallucinations, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. When diagnosing these disorders, psychiatrists can utilize their medical background to consider biological factors. Some psychological disorders are associated with chemical imbalances in the brain. Medical backgrounds give psychiatrists the authorization to prescribe drugs to their patients. If necessary, psychiatrists can recommend hospitalization for certain patients as well.

    Psychiatrists spend a great deal of time with their patients, attempting to find the source of their issues. During therapy sessions, they try to get their patients to understand their problems by talking about their thoughts, experiences and feelings. Often psychiatrists will find that many of their patients’ problems stem from unresolved grief issues. In such a case, they could direct their patient to a grief counselor or address the issue during some therapy sessions. Psychiatrists also help people to gain control of harmful behaviors and bad habits. Depending on the issue at hand, psychiatrists may schedule therapy sessions for a patient once a week or once a month if the problem is less severe. The length of psychiatric evaluations varies from patient to patient. Regular sessions may be as long as one hour while follow-up visits may be as short as 20 minutes. These sessions may occur individually but group sessions are not uncommon. Psychiatrists are responsible for tracking their patients’ progress by keeping detailed reports of their sessions. After years of experience psychiatrists can choose to specialize in specific fields such as forensic psychiatry or child psychiatry. They may also go into private practices or partnerships which would usually result in a significant increase in their salary.

    There are many other factors that determine the salary of a psychiatrist. Their experience, place of work and specialization can have a major impact on the amount of money they receive annually. In 2004, the average salary for psychiatrists was $180,000 a year. The salaries for psychiatrists escalate rapidly as they gain more experience in the field. Eventually, they can earn up to $300,000 a year.

    It’s important to take note of the physical, emotional and mental disadvantages to working in the field. Psychiatrists work long hours and can be called at moment’s notice to evaluate a patient. This can become physically draining, especially if you’re constantly being called away at odd hours of the night. Also, the stress of dealing with troubled individuals who suffer from a wide variety of problems can be emotionally taxing. It is difficult to not become emotionally attached to patients and to remain unbiased when listening to their thoughts and feelings.

    Although it takes a great deal of schooling and training to become a psychiatrist, the job can be incredibly rewarding. Having a career that allows you to help people on a daily basis can be incredibly worthwhile.

  • What Is Technical Writing?

    What Is Technical Writing?

    Imagine getting a new phone or computer device for your birthday. Would you already know how to use it or would you need to look at the instructions? When you were younger, did you ever have toys that needed to be put together before you could play with them? If so, you or your parents probably read a technical document—the instructions. Compiling instructions for toys or electronics is only one of the many jobs available to people known as technical writers. People working in this field can write instruction manuals, research papers, advertisements, catalogues, and anything else that requires their special skills.

    Basically, technical writing is about explaining something to another person, but the work can take different forms. One kind of technical writing is about explaining products to the people who buy and use them. It could be the instructions that come with toys, electronics, or kitchen appliances like mixers or dishwashers. It could even be the instructions on packages of instant soup or microwave dinners.

    A second kind of technical writing is about explaining and recording procedures for people working in many different areas, such as engineering and manufacturing. It could include research papers, repair manuals, or procedures for completing certain tasks, such as engineering instructions on what measurements to use for certain types of building projects. This type of technical writing could also include detailed job descriptions for people working in all kinds of areas such as librarianship or accounting. The name for this writing style is technical documentation.

    A third type of technical writing is in the area of marketing or selling things. Technical writers work with advertisements, catalogues, brochures, and other documents that companies use to tell customers about their products and to convince them to buy something. A lot of the advertising you see might come from the work of technical writers.

    Becoming a technical writer involves more than just knowing how to put sentences and paragraphs together. Technical writers need to be able to gather information quickly and to be able to explain it clearly. They have to know the audience (the people who will read the finished documents) and know what kinds of information readers will need. An instruction manual for using a computer game, for example, is very different from a guide to drilling oil wells. Technical writers have to be flexible workers and quick learners, comfortable with working in print or online.

    Almost everyone works as a technical writer at some point. The best way to become a professional technical writer, however, is to get a diploma or certificate in technical communications at a community college. The demand for good writers is increasing, although it can be hard to find a full-time job. Most technical writers work on projects and then move on to other jobs when they are finished. The pay, however, is usually quite good, which helps to make up for times when there is no work. If you love to write, why not become a technical writer?

  • Career Profile: Chemical Engineer

    Career Profile: Chemical Engineer

    Suppose that one day you write on a piece of paper, use hand lotion on your dry skin, take some medication for your cold, put on a nylon jacket, and sit on a chair with metal legs. Do you know what all of those activities have in common? In all of them, you used products developed by chemical engineers. These scientists help turn raw materials like wood or flowers into products that people use every day. If you enjoy math, chemistry and other sciences and have the ability to solve problems, the job of chemical engineer might be right for you.

    Chemical engineers are involved in making many of the products that people use every day. Normally, their work is in developing processes for other workers to use in making products for customers to buy. For example, chemical engineers might experiment to find the right combination of plants and chemicals to produce a certain colour for dying cloth. Some chemical engineers work to make products better for the environment and some have even found a way to turn used chewing gum into other substances like plastic. That way, they turn what is normally garbage into something useful.

    Inventing ways to solve problems or to help make life easier for people is what chemical engineers do. Normally, a Bachelor’s degree in engineering with an emphasis on chemical engineering is the minimum requirement for working in this field. About twenty universities in Canada offer this kind of training. High school courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry are good preparation for studies in chemical engineering, and reading magazines about the profession is also a good idea.

    In many cases, a Master’s or a Ph.D. degree is required for finding work as a chemical engineer, although a Bachelor’s degree is enough in some cases. Bachelor’s degrees normally take three or four years and Master’s degrees take another year or two after that. Getting a Ph.D. usually involves writing a book-length paper called a dissertation, which can also take a few years to finish. If you decide to become a chemical engineer, you will need to spend some time at a university.

    People with degrees in chemical engineering work wherever their knowledge is needed. They might help deal with problems in processing plants or do experiments in university laboratories. Some of them might work for cosmetic companies or help produce medications. Depending on their level of experience and where they work, chemical engineers make between about $50,000 and $70,000 per year in Canada, although salaries can also be higher. Job prospects in Canada are fairly good, but declining work in areas like construction has changed employment for engineers. However, jobs should still be available for new graduates.

    Do you enjoy combining different substances together to see what happens?  Why don’t you see if chemical engineering is right for you?

  • Medical and Dental Assistants

    Medical and Dental Assistants

    When you go to a doctor’s or dentist’s office, you usually meet a few different people. Besides the other patients waiting for their appointments, there’s the receptionist who takes your name and then tells you when you can go in. The next person you see is probably the medical or dental assistant. These people help with a wide variety of tasks within a medical or dental office and are often a very important in the work of caring for the patients who come for treatment.

    The tasks of a medical or dental assistant can vary a lot, depending on training, the size of the office, and how the doctor or dentist likes to work. However, most assistants do a combination of working with the patients and doing paperwork. The paperwork might include taking down information about a patient’s previous illnesses and current state of health, making appointments, or writing down information for insurance payments.

    Working with patients might include helping a doctor give needles, weighing patients, taking x-rays of people’s teeth, and preparing dental fillings. In addition, medical and dental assistants might clean instruments such as dental tools, prepare the room for the next patient to come in, and generally be ready for anything the doctor or dentist needs. Assistants need to be ready for anything from sweeping the floor to dealing with medical emergencies.

    Most medical or dental assistants work in private offices and clinics. Their work is mostly self-regulated. This means that the requirements for the work depend largely on what their employers want them to do. Completing high school or its equivalent is usually a basic requirement, and most dental or medical assistants must know CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in case a patient’s heart stops during a treatment. Many assistants also get special training and receive licenses to work in their field. The training is usually about ten months or a year at a technical school, with a heavy emphasis on scientific subjects like physics and biology. Taking the sciences in high school is a good way to prepare for this field.

    For medical assistants in Canada, salaries range from about $23,000 to $51,000 per year, and for dental assistants, they are between about $29,500 and a little over $53,000. Montreal currently has the lowest wages, and Alberta has the highest. Some employers pay more than others, but experience also helps move workers up to the higher salaries.

    Medical and dental assistants might never be featured on television shows or enjoy the high status that their employers have, but their work is essential in caring for the needs of patients. If you choose to get into this field, your work will help make many other people’s lives easier and better.