“Booming” retirement communities provide career opportunities

Canada’s senior living industry enters a decade of record growth

Blame it on the boomers! In the upcoming decade, all Canadian baby boomers will be 65 or older. This means, of the largest population swell in Canada’s history, even the youngest will have made their way to senior citizenship by 2031.¹ With the surge of aging baby boomers, seniors could account for over one-fifth of our population by as early as 2025² and 22.7% in 2031, the year when the last baby boomers turn 65.³ 

This is having an enormous impact on the retirement community industry. For example, in 2020 there were 450,000 people living in Canadian seniors’ residences or nursing homes. By 2030, this number will increase to 650,000,⁴ requiring an investment of private and public resources, as well as an urgent need for trained personnel to manage all aspects of these communities.

A career in retirement community management could be right if you are:

 Interested in working in senior long-term care, retirement community residences or home care services

 Seeking a second career or progression within hospitality, personal support, social services or healthcare

 A recent college/university graduate interested in entering this field

Seniors are living longer and healthier lives,⁵ meaning that big, exciting changes are in store for this industry. So, if you want to work in a dynamic industry that will challenge you and positively impact seniors’ lives, retirement community management may be the right career path for you.

Consider these retirement community management opportunities:

• There’s healthy job security. Senior living is a sector that has a solid foundation for both stability and growth.⁶ As the senior population continues to grow in Canada, the need for qualified professionals will grow with it, making retirement community management an attractive career path filled with opportunities.
• It’s a business career that offers meaningful job satisfaction. Working in a retirement community allows you to interact and enrich the lives of others. You have the opportunity to get to know the residents over time and see firsthand the impact on seniors’ lives and health.
• It’s rewarding – A career in this fast-growing industry allows professionals to put their skills and talents to support the aging population and reap financial rewards.  Examples of salaries and benefits in retirement community management in Ontario show postings for positions at an estimated salary of $44,000-$63,000 a year, while an executive director is listed at an estimated salary of $100,000-$130,000 a year.⁷
• It’s flexible – whatever your passions or talents, they can be put to good use in the retirement community industry. Management and corporate staff in senior living communities require skills in business, marketing, finance, human resources, wellness, food and nutrition, paired with an understanding of senior living and aging. From long-term care facilities, assisted living, memory care centres as well as independent community living, each niche requires qualified professionals to meet the industry’s growing demands.

Which studies will give you the best credentials for this career path?

At this stage of the rapid growth of Canadian retirement communities, the industry knows the importance of hiring employees with a background in business that are capable to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Therefore, looking for programs that combine business and retirement management studies, such as McMaster Continuing Education’s Retirement Community Management certificate, can help you benefit most in this growing field. You can feel confident that you have the required education and skills that top employment opportunities seek within retirement communities and senior living communities.

Learn more:

1 CBC: OK, boomer! The future for Canada’s soon-to-retire demographic
2 Statistics Canada
3 Statistics Canada
4 RBC: Canada’s Aging Population
5 Government of Canada: Action for Seniors Report
6 Forbes: Looking for job security? Think Senior Living
7 Workopolis