When asked to write a report on employment opportunities in Canada’s healthcare industry, I immediately thought of hospitals. However, while researching this report I discovered two additional industries that contribute invaluably to health care and offer a wide variety of job opportunities: the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Due to the demographics of the labour force and the technology demands, this industry needs graduates from all fields of study!

My first conversation was with Randy Follas in human resources at the Ontario Hospitals Association. The OHA is essentially the voice of the hospitals in Ontario. Follas informed me of the association’s hiring practices, which are representative of hospitals throughout Canada. There is always research work and projects to be tackled at hospitals. For these tasks, Follas said, hospitals “typically hire graduates of a masters of health administration.” But if you have previous experience in human resources, you can find work in hospital HR. Those students with backgrounds in communications are eligible for work in the PR department of any hospital. And there is always the corporate angle. Commerce graduates are required to manage the business affairs of health care.

Follas also informed me of job opportunities in the nursing profession. So I did a little research and discovered an interesting trend: over the last couple of decades, the nursing profession has had very little turnover. But that is about to change as those men and women who make up the profession are nearing their retirement. In other words, now is a good time for young women and men to become Registered Nurses (RN). Already there are nursing shortages in intensive care units, critical care units, and neonatal intensive care units.

A Registered Nurse has the opportunity to work in a variety of different settings: schools, clients’ homes, communities, and hospitals. Within these settings RNs can work with individual clients, families, and groups. The type of work you might do as a RN may also vary. One could become a nurse researcher, investigating current issues in healthcare and nursing, or one could specialize in nurse education and be responsible for constructing healthcare policy. Some RNs are involved in the exciting task of developing health promotion and illness prevention programs.

The nursing profession is just one of the many sectors in the burgeoning healthcare industry. Medical technology is advancing quickly and healthcare institutions are in need of people trained to run and interpret the data from the high tech health equipment. This explains the 95 percent placement rate enjoyed by graduates of The Michener Institute, a college that offers a full-time program in laboratory sciences. Renate Krakauer of The Michener Institute stated, “Healthcare employers are looking for more multi-skilled health care professionals with a core set of skills. Students with these skills are in high demand.” The healthcare industry is not just comprised of hospitals and nurses. The development and manufacturing of medicines requires a considerable resource pool of specialized labour in multiple fields. There are two areas of medical research in particular that are growing exponentially. The first is biotechnology and the second is pharmaceuticals.

Biotech is technology applied to the life sciences. It is the use of a living organism, or part of it, to develop a product or to improve a process. In the healthcare context, a biotechnologist can manipulate genes in order to create a product that benefits the sick, like designing a protein that can act as a drug, or using bacteria as a fermenting agent for vaccines. I asked Tanya Soboloff, biotech expert at The Michner Institute, to explain why the production of health care products using biotech is growing so fast. “Because it’s such an elegant way to do things,” she responded. “Bacteria can mass produce a product in a matter of hours, so it’s cost efficient. A biotechnologist can manipulate DNA, or use qualities of other living things to create a custom made product. That product would be based on biologics rather than chemicals which would make the product more natural.”

Hearing this I wondered whether informing students about biotechnology was even worthwhile since it sounds so specialized. I imagined only those who have been working toward being biotechnologists their whole lives would find employment in the industry. But Paul Watson from the Biotechnology Human Resource Council (BHRC) proved me wrong. “As the technology leaves the laboratory and enters the marketplace, companies need people from all disciplines, from those with an understanding of science to those with an understanding of finance and business administration.” Watson elaborated, “It’s like any product, if you develop it, you have to figure out the logistics of getting it to market. So a biotech company has to get involved with sales, marketing, shipping, manufacturing, storage, and a company has to understand government regulations in order to make sure that the product meets government standards.” This industry then, promises jobs for students from a variety of different academic backgrounds.

The same holds true for pharmaceutical companies. Companies like Apotex Inc andMerck Frosst develop products that originate in the laboratory. Anne Hardacre, recruitment leader from Apotex Inc, spoke with me about job opportunities within pharmaceutical companies. According to Hardacre, pharmaceutical companies look for students with a background in chemistry, or other scientific or technical fields. But she was quick to point out that business and communications grads could also find work in the sales, marketing, and public affairs departments of pharmaceutical companies.

It's an excellent time for students wanting to start their careers in the healthcare industry. For those students who haven’t considered healthcare as a career, definitely check it out. Remember, you don’t necessarily have to specialize in sciences to find a job in this industry. jp

Some websites to get you started...

Canadian Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASPLA)

Canadian Nurses Association
Canadian Association of Pharmacy Technicians
Canadian Pharmacists Association
Canadian Physiotherapy Association

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