As the calendar turns over to 2025, Canadian businesses face various uncertainties, not the least of which is the threat of tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump. Technology, market forces, and remote work pose further questions.
What types of positions will be in demand in 2025? What’s in store for Canada’s economy? How will technology shape recruiting and hiring? Will the great “office vs. hybrid” debate be settled?
In what has become something of a holiday tradition here at Goldbeck Recruiting, we gathered our staff to share their insights, predictions, and advice for companies looking to get it right in 2025.
What Positions Will Be in Demand in 2025?
Who will be in demand in 2025? Who will struggle to find work? Our senior staff members share their thoughts on HR, engineering, non-profits, and more.
HR Function Continues to Be Understaffed
Senior Recruiter Jessica Miles has been in contact with several companies that are considering bringing more HR staff on board. Despite this, she sees many organizations that fail to adequately staff their HR departments, preferring to intensify the workload of current HR or even non-HR staff. With economic headwinds on the horizon, she sees no reason to expect change.
“My gut tells me that the types of companies who haven’t made a push to hire HR people aren’t going to do so now,” says Miles. “Even though they complain of too much work, they’re not willing to spend the money.”1
She warns that such an approach can negatively affect organizational culture and employee engagement, potentially causing them to lose good employees. “In that case, it’ll cost them more money in the long run,” says Miles.
Engineers Increasing in Demand
Goldbeck Recruiting President Henry Goldbeck has noticed that there is increasing demand for engineers.
“In the first few years of the housing boom, it was project managers, estimators, and site superintendents who were in demand,” notes Goldbeck. “Now they have been joined by civil, mechanical, and structural engineers. There’s a shortage.”
Growth, Challenges for Non-Profits
Senior Recruiter Alessia Pagliaroli expects that economic conditions will continue to place a high burden on non-profit organizations.
“They’ll be busier than ever, so the sector may grow,” she says.
Unfortunately, the same conditions that are increasing their importance are also likely to cause challenges for non-profits.
“If the economy turns down, it’s going to be harder for them to raise money,” notes Goldbeck.
K-Shaped Economy
Goldbeck expects that the economy in 2025 will be K-shaped.
“Skilled, experienced people will remain in demand, but those who don’t bring hard skills to specific functions or industries will have a hard time finding work,” he says.
He believes that the nature of Western Canada’s economy makes it hard to develop organizational depth.
“We have so many small organizations and branch organizations that companies fail to build the bench strength that is common in larger cities,” says Goldbeck.
Miles says that economic conditions are causing employees over the age of 60 to stay at their positions longer, which is good news for the companies that retain their experience.
“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of ageism out there,” she says.
Impact of Potential Tariffs on the Canadian Economy and Job Market
“The across-the-board tariffs that Trump is threatening us with may or may not materialize in full, but the uncertainty will slow the economy,” predicts Goldbeck. “Companies aren’t going to invest millions and millions of dollars in growth if they’re not sure what’s going to happen.”
Goldbeck believes that the tariffs don’t make sense and worries that they’ll be painful for Canada as well as the United States.
“The Federal Government of Canada will have to come in and do what they did with COVID, in terms of special unemployment insurance,” he says.
Potential Trouble for Various Industries
Goldbeck Recruiting staff members see trouble ahead for various industries as a result of these uncertainties.
“The lumber industry is very important to B.C., and it’s vastly impacted by whatever happens in the US,” says Miles. “Mills are already closing their doors, and these potential tariffs may be too much for other mills to handle.”
The senior recruiter also cites electrical manufacturing as an example of an industry that could be vulnerable.
Pagliaroli has observed smaller engineering firms struggle to compete with their larger counterparts for talent. She worries that this trend could continue.
“A client of mine offered two positions to two potential employees each,” she says. “Of these four offers, not one was accepted. With the added threat of the US tariffs, I’m not sure all of these companies will survive.”
Technology in the Recruiting Process
Technology continues to be a strong factor in recruiting, both in terms of the skill sets that are being sought and the processes used to evaluate candidates. This presents opportunities for recruiters, while also posing challenges.
Is Artificial Intelligence Helping Candidates Cheat the System?
“As recruiters, it’s often difficult to determine whether a cover letter or resume has been written by a candidate or by artificial intelligence,” admits Pagliaroli. “Interviewing becomes even more important, particularly for positions in industries like marketing where communication and writing skills are paramount.”
The result, according to Goldbeck, will be interviews where candidates reveal themselves to be poor choices soon after sitting down.
“As of now, there are still no tools to allow candidates to talk through artificial intelligence,” he says.
Senior Recruiter Reiniell Gan has already observed companies adjusting their screening process to combat the use of AI.
“Instead of giving candidates homework assignments, an engineering firm I’m working with is administering a real-time assessment to be completed on-site,” he says.
The Importance of a Human Hiring Process
It’s not just candidates using AI to gain an advantage, but hiring companies as well. Although the staff agree that it can significantly lighten the administrative work involved with screening and hiring, they warn against losing the personal touch.
“Candidates are enticed by the trustworthiness of human connection,” says Goldbeck. “Certainly senior executives are not going to be recruited by automated systems.”
Miles sees a wider backlash against technology coming together.
“I am starting to see cover letters that say, ‘This cover letter was not written using AI,’” she says. “You’re hearing about social media breaks or initiatives to discourage excessive screen time for children. Authenticity is in favour,” she says.
Hybrid and Remote Work Here to Stay
“There will probably be more people working in offices at the end of 2025 than there are now, but it’s never going back to the way it was pre-COVID,” declares Goldbeck. “Hybrid and remote work aren’t going away.”
Despite the passage of almost five years since the great remote work experiment began, we still lack a consensus on what’s optimal.
“A lot of companies think that they need to bring workers back to the office in order to be effective,” says Goldbeck. “They want to have people together so that they can crack the whip.”
Other companies are moving in the opposite direction, including Spotify, which recently declared that their staff work just fine from home, because they’re “not children.”
Senior Recruiter Karen Epp believes that generational turnover will play a role.
“As leaders who are more comfortable working in-office continue to retire, the younger generation will continue pushing for remote and hybrid work,” she predicts. “They’re more comfortable with it.”
Perhaps it’s not surprising that such a major shift in workplace dynamics would take some time to be sorted out.
“There’s no rulebook, and we haven’t been through this before,” says Goldbeck. “A lot of people are trying to read the tea leaves and decide what to do.”
“It took us here at Goldbeck five years to really figure out what works,” adds Miles. “It’s not a switch that can be made overnight.”
Cited Sources
1 Direct contact with staff of Goldbeck Recruiting
