The Alberta Recreation and Parks Industry Labour Market Project is the first stakeholder led report in nearly fifteen years! A lot has transpired since then with the growth and emergence of new trends, economic downturns and most recently COVID-19. From an industry perspective, the recreation and parks industry is found within multiple industries as categorized by the Alberta Government and the Canadian Government. This project is an initial step to categorize the Alberta recreation and parks industry from the stakeholder’s perspective.
Furthermore, this project took into account the geographical and community size differences for the labour market between urban, rural, remote, and indigenous communities. An aquatics coordinator in a city can be vastly different than an aquatics coordinator in a rural town. This project provides data to make informed decisions for those currently in the workforce, students looking to be in the industry or for organizations making labour decisions for their recreation and/or park departments.
The information presented in this project among the macro labour trends, Alberta labour trends, the employee survey and interviews, and the employer survey all provide key insights into the Alberta recreation and parks industry for the development of human resource plans. To know and garner insights into what recruitment or retention strategy is most prevalent in a rural setting can assist HR or hiring managers in making informed decisions. Furthermore, the key insights and recommendations of this project assist in raising awareness of the crucial role the Alberta recreation and park professionals play in the province, especially in a time of COVID-19 where recreation and parks have been immensely popular yet threatened by closures and funding constraints. Finally, the project updates the position profiles from 2005 with current titles, responsibilities and qualifications. Positions in the sector can range from Recreation Directors to Fun Managers but the aggregated data for the positions profiles pulls from over 350 positions in the industry to begin standardizing positions in the industry.
The Alberta Recreation and Parks Industry Labour Market Project was developed with sub-sectors. Those sub-sectors being Fitness, Health and Active Living; Amateur Sport; Outdoor Recreation and Parks; and Community Recreation. Those sub-sectors were developed with community size in mind (urban, rural, remote and indigenous).
This report was developed in collaboration with sector partners, consultants, and those who took the time to participate in surveys and interviews. The Alberta Recreation and Parks Industry Labour Market Report would not have been possible without the financial support of the Government of Alberta and the Ministry of Labour & Immigration. The Province of Alberta is working in partnership with the Government of Canada to provide employment support programs and services.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sector partners who contributed both financially and in-kind through their time.
The Alberta Recreation & Parks Association would like to acknowledge the First Nations, the Métis, and all of the people across Alberta who share a history and a deep connection with this land. We dedicate ourselves to moving forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in the spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.