Job prospects Crewman/woman, Fishing Vessel in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "crewman/woman, fishing vessel" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Nova Scotia

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Fishing vessel deckhands (NOC 84121) in Nova Scotia for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment is expected to remain relatively stable.
• Several positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
• Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months.

Hiring for this occupation is done mostly via word-of-mouth and personal connections, which can make it difficult for newcomers to a community, or those who are newly interested in fishing, to secure employment. Hiring is also seasonal in nature, with the greatest demand for labour occurring shortly after the opening of a fishing area.

Here are some key facts about Fishing vessel deckhands in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 1,500 people work in this occupation.
• Fishing vessel deckhands mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Fishing, hunting and trapping (NAICS 114): more than 95%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 90% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 10% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 7% of fishing vessel deckhands work all year, while 93% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 22 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 10% of fishing vessel deckhands are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 88% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 12% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 30% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 36% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 18% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 12% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Nova Scotia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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