From biofuels to bacon and bomb disposal suits, nuclear science to natural skin care products and non-toxic firefighting gel, Eastern Ontario’s manufacturing sector is diverse, dynamic and home to a wealth of career opportunities.
That’s the thrust of STUFF Made and Built in Eastern Ontario, a hip, interactive digital and print publication. STUFF explores the challenges and opportunities facing manufacturing and skilled trades in Eastern Ontario, from Kingston to Renfrew County, Ottawa to Cornwall.
The goal is to convey to a new generation of jobseekers, as well as those who may be facing a transition mid-career, that manufacturing and trades do offer cool career opportunities, in communities across Eastern Ontario.
“Area students, guidance counselors and parents will use STUFF as a resource for making career decisions, while employers will use it as part of their recruitment efforts,” said Michael Curran, president of Great River Media and publisher of the Ottawa Business Journal.
The cutting edge of digital transformation
Ontario as a whole is home to a top-notch manufacturing sector as well as a world-class technology sector. These two sectors are converging as manufacturers increasingly embrace smarter machines and automation to sharpen their competitive edge in an Industry 4.0 world. Not only is a career in manufacturing an opportunity to build cool things, it’s the opportunity to work with the advanced technologies that are increasingly being used to build them.
“In reality, many organizations are cross-sectoral,” said Ingrid Argyle, project manager at the Ottawa Employment Hub. “There is also a lot of technology involved in traditional manufacturing organizations and there is also a demand for skilled trades … manufacturing is a sector the straddles the old and the new and can offer opportunities to a wide variety of workers.”
In the pages of STUFF you will find:
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35 Cool Things made or built in Eastern Ontario
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Employers and economic development officers from across the region discussing the growing need to attract fresh blood into the manufacturing sector and the skilled trades
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Men and women talking about their work in manufacturing, many of whom have levered their post-secondary education into rewarding careers
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Valuable labour market information that details job availability, job growth and average salaries
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Educational resources to help individuals prepare for their career, from high school through university
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Information on local programs that connect jobseekers with employers
By the numbers
City of Ottawa manufacturing Labour Market Information for 2017 and 2018 reveals that:
- The number of online job postings jumped by 44.4 per cent, to 3,409
- The number of manufacturing jobs in Ottawa rose by 2.8 per cent, to 19,338
- The average salary in the sector rose by 2.5 per cent, to $64,524, (on par with the Ontario average across all sectors)
Much more than manual labour
City of Ottawa Labour Market Information reveals that the skill level for the typical manufacturing job is roughly comparable to the average for Ottawa job sectors collectively, with about 30 per cent of roles requiring university education, 15 per cent requiring college/vocational/apprenticeship training, and the same percentage requiring secondary school and/or occupational-specific training.
