economic development strategy and action plan 2009 ... - City of Barrie

Figure 12 - Labour Force by Occupation, 2001 and 2006
Barrie Ontario
Occupation (NOC-S) 2006 2001 % Change 2006 2001 % Change
All occupations* 71,145 55,885 27.3% 6,473,735 5,992,765 8.0%
Management 7,235 6,040 19.8% 666,485 685,390 -2.8%
Business, finance and administration 11,540 9,385 23.0% 1,204,490 1,097,835 9.7%
Natural and applied sciences 3,575 2,955 21.0% 451,930 422,510 7.0%
Health 3,615 2,775 30.3% 340,685 286,310 19.0%
Social science, education,
government service and religion
* Labour Force 15 years and older minus the approximately 885 individuals within the “Occupation Not Applicable” Category, or
Unemployed persons 15 years and older who have never worked for pay or in self-employment or who had last worked prior to
January 1, 2005, only
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2001 Census of Population
5,725 3,890 47.2% 546,390 455,825 19.9%
Art, culture, recreation and sport 1,645 1,305 26.1% 200,980 171,840 17.0%
Sales and service 19,815 15,590 27.1% 1,522,820 1,371,245 11.1%
Trades, transport and equipment
operators
Occupations unique to primary
industry
Occupations unique to processing,
manufacturing and utilities
12,015 8,675 38.5% 911,250 845,125 7.8%
705 430 64.0% 165,085 164,360 0.4%
5,270 4,840 8.9% 463,610 492,320 -5.8%
2.6 Educational Attainment
The level of educational attainment in a municipality can be used as a general indicator of the capacity for
innovation of the local population. Generally put, educational attainment is often seen as a contributing
factor to the quality of the “human capital” of a municipality, or the accumulation of skills and talents which
manifests itself in the educated and skilled workforce of the region (Mathur, 1999).
In 2006, approximately 49% of the population over 15 years of age had attained some form of postsecondary
education, slightly lower than the 51% that have achieved this level across the province. The
population in Barrie was most heavily weighted towards college education, with almost 24% of the
population attaining a college education. This was above the provincial attainment rate of 18.4%. A strong
community asset in this regard is the presence of the main campus of Georgian College, suggesting that
Barrie has been able to retain some of the graduates from this institution. The results of the occupational
profile also suggest that there are a considerable number of people working in skilled trades and health
care which would not necessarily require a university education.
With the planned expansion of both college and university programming at the Barrie campus, greater
consideration should be given to ways to retain its college graduates in order to improve the city’s labour
force credentials. This is particularly important given Ontario and the GTA’s shift towards a more
technology based, higher value economy.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 29 | P age