Occupational therapists (OTs) may work for:
- community agencies
- health care organizations (such as hospitals, continuing care facilities, rehabilitation centres and clinics)
- schools or post-secondary schools
- government or insurance agencies
- the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB)
- lawyers’ offices
- professional organizations.
OTs in public or private practice may offer services such as medical or legal evaluations. Those who are self-employed often consult for various levels of government.
In Alberta, 83% of people employed as occupational therapists work in the Health Care and Social Assistance [pdf] industry.
The employment outlook [pdf] in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:
- trends and events that affect overall employment (especially in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry)
- location in Alberta
- employment turnover (work opportunities that come up when people leave existing positions)
- occupational growth (work opportunities that come up when new positions are created)
- size of the occupation.
Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.
In Alberta, the 3143: Occupational therapists occupational group is expected to have an above-average annual growth of 3.4% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 75 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.