Explore Careers - Job Market Report

Local Employment Potential Information

: Undetermined : Limited : Fair : Good

Table on the employment potential for Conference and event planners in Ontario as well as in the rest of the Ontario.

Location	Employment Potential	Release Date
Ontario	(3 of 3 stars)	2018-12-07

The employment outlook will be good for Conference and event planners (NOC 1226) in Ontario for the 2018-2020 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Conference and event planners work in all sectors, but largely in other services, particularly in grant making and civic organizations and arts, entertainment and recreation as promoters of performing arts, sports and similar events , and.

Employment has grown in this occupation over the last decade. Ontario hosts many business events, including conferences, trade shows, and consumer shows. The province also holds numerous arts and entertainment events, and charitable fundraising initiatives each year. The growth of the province’s population coupled with Ontario’s appeal for new business investments should sustain demand for conference and event planning services going forward.

The job requirements vary significantly in this occupation. While some employers are seeking candidates with five or more years of experience in addition to formal education in a related field, others require more entry-level skills. A fair amount of opportunities are therefore expected from staff turnover, especially given that the occupation has a younger age profile compared to all occupations in the province. A special events coordinator is the voluntary skilled trade associated with this occupation in Ontario. Job prospects are expected to be more favourable for individuals who have completed an apprenticeship and/or who have obtained industry certification such as the Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) designation. Individuals who are willing to work various hours including evenings and weekends, and travel to different locations may fare better in the job market.

Here are some key facts about Conference and event planners in the Ontario region:

• Approximately 12,150 people work in this occupation.
• Conference and event planners mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Arts, entertainment and recreation (NAICS 71): 18%
  • Personal and laundry services (NAICS 812): 15%
  • Religious, grant-making, civic, and professional and similar organizations (NAICS 813): 11%
  • Management and administrative services (NAICS 55, 56): 8%
  • Universities (NAICS 6113): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 76% compared to 79% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 24% compared to 21% for all occupations
• 57% of conference and event planners work all year, while 43% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 30 weeks compared to 31 weeks for all occupations.
• 17% of conference and event planners are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
[ Source: Labour Market Information - ESDC | Outlook Methodology ]

Local Labour Market News

• Dine Brands Global Inc. along with Minhas Holding, Inc. will open 15 IHOP locations in the GTA over the next seven years. The first location is expected to open mid-year 2020, creating 900 new jobs and $15M of construction.

• As part of its creation of the Ontario Health central agency, CEOs at nine Local Health Integration Network agencies were laid off
• Lowe's Canada will close nine stores across its Rona, Lowe's and Reno-Depot banners in Ontario on January 31, 2020. Employees will be offered opportunities to transfer to other stores.

• Thirty-three probation and parole officers graduated from Ontario's Correctional Services Recruitment and Training Centre and will be placed throughout the province
• Motherhood Maternity will close 13 of its Canadian stores, including four in Ontario, with one each in Kitchener, Ottawa, Pickering and Sudbury

• The Government of Ontario announced $40M in mental health services funding for Ontario's high school students. The funding will create 180 frontline mental health worker positions in Ontario secondary schools.
• The Ministry of the Solicitor General hired 22 new correctional officers, with six positions allocated to the Northern region, five to the Western region and 11 to the Central region