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Community Health Promotion Worker, Community Health Worker, Community Liaison, Community Relations Specialist
In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.
The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used.
Here is how this occupation has been classified over time.
2006 NOC
2006 NOC-S
2011 NOC
2016 NOC
2021 NOC
2023 OaSIS
Community health representatives work with health care teams to maintain and improve the overall well-being (spiritual, physical, cognitive, social, and emotional) of people and their communities. Their key roles include:
Client care and screening includes:
Health promotion, health protection, and injury and disease prevention include:
Environmental health protection includes:
Community advocacy and cultural liaison includes:
Program planning and support for health education programs includes:
Patient resources include:
Community health representatives are also responsible for documenting their work. For example, they:
In remote communities, community health representatives work closely with health care professionals during emergency situations.
In urban settings, community health representatives do not provide services that are already provided by other health care providers (such as assessing or screening clients or monitoring water safety).
Work hours for community health representatives may vary. They may work standard office hours. Or they may work evenings and weekends to support community programming.
Some travel may be required. Poor road and weather conditions are possible when travelling.
The work may be stressful. Workers may face significant community issues and hardships. These may include shifting priorities and multiple or conflicting demands. These may come from clients, families, and communities. They may also come from other agencies and management.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2006 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
Interest in consulting with social assistance recipients and pensioners to advise and aid them in locating and utitizing a variety of community resources; in referring clients to other social services; in counselling clients living in group homes and halfway houses and assisting in pre-release and release planning; in providing crisis intervention and emergency-shelter services; and in co-ordinating volunteer activities of community and social services organizations
Interest in compiling information to participate in the selection and admission of clients to appropriate programs; to assess clients' relevant skill strengths and deficits; and in maintaining contact with other social service agencies and health care providers involved with clients to provide information and obtain feedback on clients' overall progress
Interest in assisting clients to sort out options and develop plans of action, and in implementing and organizing the delivery of life-skills workshops, substance-abuse treatment programs, behaviour management programs, youth services programs and other community and social service programs under the supervision of social workers and health care professionals
To identify or change your interest codes, complete the Interests Exercise in CAREERinsite.
The interest code helps you figure out if you’d like to work in a particular occupation.
It’s based on the Canadian Work Preference Inventory (CWPI), which measures 5 occupational interests: Directive, Innovative, Methodical, Objective, and Social.
Each set of 3 interest codes for this NOC group is listed in order of importance.
A code in capital letters means it’s a strong fit for the occupation.
A code in all lowercase letters means the fit is weaker.
To fill in or change the values for your abilities, complete the Abilities Exercise in CAREERinsite.
A Quick Guide
You are born with abilities that help you process certain types of information and turn it into action. These abilities influence which skills you can learn more easily.
The abilities or aptitudes shown for this NOC group come from the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). The GATB measures 9 aptitudes. It groups them into 3 categories: mental, visual, and physical.
The abilities scores range from 1 to 5, with 5 being stronger.
Community health representatives need:
Community health representatives need to be dependable and punctual. They should enjoy helping people, collecting information, keeping records, and running health programs.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
This chart shows which job skills are currently in highest demand for this occupational group. It was created using this occupation's 104 most recent Alberta job postings, collected between Dec 29, 2023 and Apr 19, 2024.
Review these skills to learn:
| Security and Safety: Criminal record check | 86 |
|---|---|
| Construction Specialization: Excellent oral communication | 85 |
| Construction Specialization: Client focus | 84 |
| Construction Specialization: Excellent written communication | 83 |
| Construction Specialization: Judgement | 81 |
| Tasks: Administrative and office activities | 72 |
| Tasks: Appraise clients' needs or eligibility for specific services | 67 |
| Tasks: Assess client's relevant skill strengths and development needs | 67 |
| Construction Specialization: Effective interpersonal skills | 66 |
| Construction Specialization: Flexibility | 65 |
Community health representatives should understand the diversity of Indigenous culture. They need the skills, knowledge, and competency to deliver:
Employers prefer to hire applicants who have completed either
Employers may also require applicants to have 1 or more of the following:
The following schools offer programs or courses that are related to this occupation but are not required to enter the field.
To expand or narrow your search for programs related to this occupation, visit Post-Secondary Programs.
Completing a program does not guarantee entrance into an occupation. Before enrolling in an education program, prospective students should look into various sources for education options and employment possibilities. For example, contact associations and employers in this field.
There is currently no provincial legislation regulating this occupation in Alberta.
Source: 2019-2023 Alberta Regional Occupational Demand Outlook
Most community health representatives work in First Nations and Métis communities. In urban centres, they may work at community agencies. They may also work at Alberta Health Services facilities.
With further education, community health representatives may move into a related occupation. These can include social worker, licensed practical nurse, or addictions counsellor. To learn more about these occupations, see Related Occupations.
This section shows the industries where the majority of people in this occupation work. The data is based on the 2016 Census.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups.
In the 4212: Social and community service workers occupational group, 77.9% of people work in:
Employment outlook is influenced by a wide variety of factors including:
In Alberta, the 4212: Social and community service workers occupational group is expected to have an above-average annual growth of 3.1% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 489 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.
Note
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For example, only some of the new positions to be created will be for this occupation. It also applies to other data for the NOC group such as number of people employed.
Source: 2019-2023 Alberta Regional Occupational Demand Outlook
Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.
Community heath representative earnings may vary depending on the employer.
For information about current collective agreements in the public and not-for-profit sectors, see the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) website.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
Unless otherwise noted, the data shown here is for all industries and all regions in Alberta.
All wage estimates are hourly except where otherwise indicated. Wages and salaries do not include overtime hours, tips, benefits, profit shares, bonuses (unrelated to production), and other forms of compensation.
To see the full survey data for this NOC group, visit the wage profile.
Other wage sources
To make an informed wage and salary decision, research other wage sources [pdf] to supplement this data.
Good Reliability, represents a CV of between 6.01% and 15.00% and/or fewer than 30 survey observations and/or if survey observations represent less than 50% of all estimated employment for the occupation.
| Wages* | Low (5th percentile) | High (95th percentile) | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting | $15.00 | $35.54 | $21.05 | $18.00 |
| Overall | $15.84 | $45.60 | $23.98 | $20.20 |
| Top | $18.00 | $47.29 | $26.99 | $23.69 |
Swipe left and right to view all data. Scroll left and right to view all data.
* All wage estimates are hourly except where otherwise indicated. Wages and salaries do not include overtime hours, tips, benefits, profit shares, bonuses (unrelated to production) and other forms of compensation.
Pay brackets for hourly wages
| ALL INDUSTRIES | $41,099 |
|---|---|
| Information, Culture, Recreation | $30,032 |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Leasing | $54,052 |
| Educational Services | $47,662 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | $33,510 |
| Other Services (Repair, Personal Services and Related) | $34,430 |
| Public Administration | $74,372 |
Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) website: www.hsaa.ca
Get information and referrals about career, education, and employment options from Alberta Supports.
Updated Mar 31, 2018. The information contained in this profile is current as of the dates shown. Salary, employment outlook, and educational program information may change without notice. It is advised that you confirm this information before making any career decisions.
