There is a strong belief shared by many parents and students that the only safe route to a good career is with a four-year undergraduate degree. Actually this view is about 50% on track. It is true that employers are placing a premium on specialized training at the post-secondary level for potential employees. It's just that this training does not have to be at the degree level. There are many two year or less programs that are offering grads with good opportunities in the job market.

The baby boom generation (born between 1947 and 1964) has had a massive impact on our job market for over the past 40 years. In fact, the impact of baby boomers in Canada is the largest in the industrialized world. Almost a whopping 33% of our population is due to the baby boomers. It's not surprising that this cohort has rumbled through the job market with the impact of an elephant. They gobbled up well paying jobs and left those generations behind scrambling to keep up. Now the elephant is set to exit the job market over the next 18 years and the repercussions are likely to be enormous.

As noted in Work Futures when it comes to economic forecasts "no one can see the future". So, anyone's estimate about the jobs of the future should be taken with caution. Yet, if we are to believe well-known Canadian economist/demographer David Foot, demographics can explain two-thirds of just about anything! With this in mind, the huge hole left in the labour market by the baby boomer's foot steps should speak well for many areas of employment.

Following is a brief list (in no particular order) of projected growth occupations requiring two years or less of post-secondary education.

The above list is not meant to be seen as an endorsement for going into any specific profession based on its expected growth. Rather it's intended to showcase the reality that successful post-secondary training extends beyond degree level studies.

Individuals interested in researching occupations that require two years or less of post-secondary are encouraged to visit the Work Futures http://www.workfutures.bc.ca  and Job Futures http://www.jobfutures.ca websites. The first website deals with occupational outlooks for BC and the second one deals with occupational outlooks for all of Canada. Others looking for occupational projections within the US may visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook website http://www.bis.gov/oco/.

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