Job prospects Patient Care Aide in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "patient care aide" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102) in Alberta for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Alberta’s population and its proportion of residents aged 65+ are predicted to increase over the next 20 years, contributing to demand for this occupation. Alberta’s Budget 2023 allocates $24.5 billion for health services in 2023-24, an increase of $965 million or 4.1% from 2022-23, including targeted health care enrolment to add 1,800 new seats at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary for health care aides, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses over the next three years. Alberta plans to reform the management structure of Alberta Health Services this year which may have implications for job seekers.

Here are some key facts about Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates in Alberta:

• Approximately 31,600 people work in this occupation.
• Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 47%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 23%
  • Social assistance (NAICS 624): 13%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 9%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 68% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 32% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 61% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates work all year, while 39% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 14% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 86% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 20% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 25% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 24% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 21% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "patient care aide" in Alberta or across Canada.

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