The Four County Labour Market Planning Board developed this resource to introduce students to the value of labour market research when planning for their future careers. A career is a combination of a lot of different things and it is important for students to start exploring different aspects of what they want to be and what types of jobs they might be interested in the future. Career decisions are not absolute and career paths usually aren’t linear; things change along the way and students will want to set themselves up to make the most of different opportunities as they change, learn and have more experiences.

The following exercises provide students the opportunity to explore their local labour market. Which will help them understand things like: key industries; types of jobs; job trends; changes in job demand. Discover if there is a local job market that they are not aware of (i.e. employers who are hiring or who
expect to hire people with certain skills in the next few years.) These things are important to understand, particularly if students plan to live and work in the local community after secondary or tertiary education.

This workbook is accompanied by an introductory video that helps to demonstrate the value of labour market research and how to use the tools effectively. You will find the video below.