In a year distinguished by rapid growth in industries such as construction, oil and gas, and services, Manpower Canada recruitment manager Cheri Tredree doesn't hesitate when asked to identify the kind of skilled workers most in demand in 2006.
 "Our largest area where we needed increased numbers are the skilled trades," she says. "That is the case right across Canada, but the highest demand is in Alberta."
 In Tredree's world, skilled trades encompasses a variety of roles from welders and carpenters to hairdressers and chefs. She and her team found, as older workers retire and withdraw from the labour force, there is a pronounced shortage of candidates qualified to fill the void.
 
The shortage has come about at a time when industries reliant on skilled trade workers are experiencing significant growth.
 In the latest Statistics Canada labour force survey, the construction industry had the third-highest growth rate of all sectors in 2005. By the end of November, employment in the industry was up 5.7% for the entire country.
  The educational services industry led in job growth, increasing by 8.4% by December, 2005, and agriculture ranked second at 8.3%.
  These three sectors are well ahead of the national average for employment growth rate of 1.4%.

The StatsCan report indicates the biggest job expansion is taking place in British Columbia, with a job growth rate of 3.8%, more than double the national average. But filling vacancies in Alberta is taking up most of  Tredree's time.

 "We're unbelievably busy in Alberta," she says. "I've recently had to ask some of our branches across Canada to focus on helping out in that province. There are jobs to fill in every industry out there."

 Kim Peters, general manager of working.com, hears the same story from other recruiters. Apart from the extraordinary growth in the oil and gas industry, she says companies in the service and retail sectors are making unprecedented efforts to staff a growing number of entry-level positions.

 She cites a recent Tim Hortons job fair where the food retailer attempted to attract workers from counter staff on up.
Ms. Peters compares the current job climate -- especially for Alberta university graduates -- to the euphoria during the dotcom boom, when there was a feeling of limitless opportunity.

 “I heard about a student panel with university students from Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto," she says.

"The students from Alberta feel that they can really pick and choose where they're going to work, whereas the students from Toronto had a totally different perspective."

Although the bulk of added jobs are blue-collar positions, students in the West have increased opportunities in professional services as well. According to both Ms. Peters and Ms. Tredree, there is high demand for engineers and lawyers.