Was wondering if anybody here has worked as a freight forwarder before. I am interested in such a job because it would seem like a job suited to those who are interested in geography.

If so, does anybody know how hard it is to get an entry level job at one of the many Vancouver freight forwarding offices. I am thinking of heading out that way in a month or so, and was wondering what the prospects of getting a job are.

Also thinking of Calgary, not as many freight forwarders there, but the city is booming so I am considering moving out there for a few months as well to see what I can find.

dont forget edmonton...

Actually, there are many jobs in Edmonton in the warehouse and distribution/ logistics sector.

On the topic of jobs...

B.C. cities rank high for worker populations

Jonathan Fowlie
Vancouver Sun

Friday, June 24, 2005

High immigration levels in B.C. have helped to give three cities in the province some of the highest marks in a national rating that measures the potential productivity of urban populations, a recent report from the Association for Canadian Studies has shown.

Released this week, the report measures demographic dependency -- the number of people of working age compared to those who are either too old or too young to be included in the workforce.

Urban areas -- the report deals with health districts, as opposed to cities -- with the highest proportion of eligible workers get the best marks as they have a higher share of people available to work and, therefore, available to support those who are either retired or too young.

"The concern has been that, increasingly, because the population is aging, you won't have a sufficiently-important critical mass of people [aged] 15 to 64 to support an aging population," said Jack Jedwab, executive-director of the Association for Canadian Studies.

Vancouver emerged with the best score in the report because close to 75 per cent of its population is of working age.

"Vancouver comes out the best, which I think supports the idea that immigration does serve as an antidote to demographic dependency," said Jedwab, pointing to high levels of immigration into the area, and the fact that many people stay.

To support this position, Jedwab pointed to a recent statistic that shows Vancouver has a relatively high proportion of immigrants compared to other areas in Canada. According to the report, almost 46 per cent of people who lived in the Vancouver health district in 2001 were immigrants.

Richmond, with 54 per cent of its population being immigrants, was second-best overall in the report, and the Fraser North health district was third.

Among larger urban areas, those districts were followed by Calgary, Halifax and Ottawa.

Among the worst areas in the rating are Keewatin Yatthe, and Mamawetan, two first nations communities in northern Saskatchewan.

Jedwab said those communities represented a paradox, because their ratings were dragged down by a high number of people who were under 15 as opposed to the number of people over 65.

In Keewatin, the worst on the scale, 36 per cent of people were below the age of 15 in 2001.

Among larger urban centres, Saskatoon was the worst-rated, as only 66.5 per cent of its population was of working age.

On Thursday, Jedwab explained that the agreed-upon ways to combat the issue of demographic dependency include raising the birth rate, raising levels of immigration or raising the retirement age.

"I think Canadians don't, by-and-large, think we are going to come out of this through higher birth rates," Jedwab said, adding he thinks most Canadians would also be reluctant to support a raised retirement age.

"That leaves immigration as the main solution to this, and I think that's the one Canadians would prefer."

Jedwab added that he thinks the connection between immigration and healthier levels of demographic dependence has led people in the country to be more welcoming of immigrants.

To support that point of view, he pointed to a Gallup poll released this week that shows that about 52 per cent of Canadians would like to see immigration levels stay the same. Twenty seven per cent want it to decrease, and 20 per cent would like to see levels rise.

jfowlie@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2005