Job prospects Educational Assistant in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "educational assistant" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Moderate for elementary and secondary school teacher assistants (NOC 43100) in Ontario for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

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

What Types of Employers Are Out There? 

• Nearly all employed in elementary and secondary schools. 

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment? 

• Demand strongly influenced by population size and student registration 
• In the near term, enrolment is expected to increase in elementary and secondary  schools 
• Changes to annual funding amounts can affect employment prospects in school boards 
• Investments made in support of students with special needs may lead to job openings for teaching assistants with this specialization 

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed? 

• Completion of the Behaviour Management Systems certification may be an asset in securing employment 
• Educational Assistant is a voluntary skilled trade in Ontario. 

Here are some key facts about elementary and secondary school teacher assistants in Ontario:

• Approximately 37,700 people work in this occupation.
• Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Elementary and secondary schools (NAICS 6111): more than 95%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 84% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 16% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 17% of elementary and secondary school teacher assistants work all year, while 83% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 38 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of elementary and secondary school teacher assistants are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 10% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 90% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 13% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 56% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 19% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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