Job prospects Cook in Northwest Territories

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "cook" in Northwest Territories or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Northwest Territories

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.

Moderate

The employment outlook will be Moderate for cooks (NOC 63200) in Northwest Territories 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.
High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities.

Cooks are one of 43 designated trades in the Northwest Territories.
Apprentices usually go to school in Alberta as local training is not available. An apprenticeship takes about three years to complete, including three on the job periods and three technical training periods.
In the Northwest Territories, this occupation can be employed to support the workforce in industrial settings, such as at mining camps.
From 2021-2040, 181 job openings are forecast for cooks in the Northwest Territories (Government of Northwest Territories, 2023).

Here are some key facts about cooks in Northwest Territories:

Approximately 250 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
Cooks mainly work in the following sectors:
- Tourism & Culture (NAICS 51, 71-72): 47%
- Health care and social services (NAICS 62): 16%
- Public Administration and Defence (NAICS 91): 15%
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (NAICS 21): 7%
The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
- Full-time workers: 72% compared to 88% for all occupations
- Part-time workers: 28% compared to 12% for all occupations
49% of cooks work all year, while 51% work only part of the year, compared to 71% and 28% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 37 weeks compared to 44 weeks for all occupations.
The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
- Men: 52% compared to 52% for all occupations
- Women: 48% compared to 48% for all occupations
The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
- no high school diploma: 37% compared to 17% for all occupations
- high school diploma or equivalent: 27% compared to 26% for all occupations
- apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 17% compared to 12% for all occupations
- college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 14% compared to 18% for all occupations
- bachelor's degree: n/a
- university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: n/a

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