Employment Outlook

The employment outlook will be moderate for Customer services representatives – financial institutions (64400) in Prince Edward Island for the 2022-2024 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Given the increasing use of automation in the financial services sector, demand for these workers may be constrained going forward. For instance, some of the services normally provided by customer service representatives have shifted from in-person assistance at the local branch to automated tellers, telephones, and web-based services. This has led to a general decrease in demand in-branch for these related services, with banks locating their branches more strategically to reduce costs while maintaining an acceptable level of service. Due to the entry-level nature of this position, the prevalence of part-time work, and relatively young workforce, most openings should arise from staff turnover. 

Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree are expected to have better job prospects. Additionally, courses such as, Investment Funds in Canada (IFIC) or the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) are beneficial for career progression. Individuals with customer service experience along with strong communication, problem solving and multi-tasking skills have better prospects of finding work in this occupation. 

Over the past decade, financial institutions carried out a major reorganization of their banking services in order to meet the demand for services in the financial advice sector, while decreasing operational spending. This reorganization led to a rise in the use of electronic services. Simultaneously, banks and credit unions wanted to take advantage of the knowledge and expertise of cashiers to meet the growing demand for consulting services. Due to the high level of competition in the financial services industry and pressure from customers, numerous financial institutions decided to focus on the quality of customer service, to extend opening hours and to hire more customer sales representatives. 

Given the latter trend is expected to continue, the number of customer sales representatives in financial institutions should rise somewhat over the next few years.

Here are some key facts about Customer services representatives – financial institutions in Prince Edward Island:

• Approximately 350 people work in this occupation.
• Customer services representatives – financial institutions mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Monetary Authorities – central bank and securities, commodity contracts and other intermediation and related activities (NAICS 521, 522, 523): 92%
  • Insurance Carriers and related activities (NAICS 524, 526): 8%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 81% compared to 84% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 19% compared to 16% for all occupations
• 61% of customer services representatives – financial institutions work all year, while 39% work only part of the year, compared to 59% and 41% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 41 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 14% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 86% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 39% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 9% compared to 11% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor’s: 39% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • bachelor’s degree: 14% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: n/a

Source: Job Bank

Prevailing Wages