Exporting Your Services

Market Demand for Specific Services

For each service industry there are indicators, or specific needs, that indicate if there is a demand for services you offer. These indicators can be found in newspaper articles, industry periodicals, or by talking with people knowledgeable about the market you're interested in. Here are examples for eight different service industries:

Architecture/Construction/Engineering

New regulations regarding environmental requirements for buildings
Indications that existing infrastructure is wearing out and needs repair or replacement
Plans for new infrastructure such as airports, rail, power
Bidding opportunities for a major international event (e.g. Olympics)
Pressure towards more leisure activities
Demand for physically accessible facilities
Demand for independent living facilities for physically challenged and for seniors
Natural or other disasters that require rebuilding
Inadequate housing available
Low vacancy rates for offices
New regional headquarters being planned
Increase in the level of construction or renovation activity
Market characteristics similar to those in Canada, such as cold weather climates, dispersed populations, use of wood products etc.

Commercial Education and Training Services

Low adult literacy rate
Low percentage of children moving from primary to secondary schooling
Low percentage of young persons completing secondary or post-secondary schooling
Few post-secondary training options
Inadequate post-secondary capacity
Low scores on standardized tests
New curricula being introduced
Passive education methods in use
Lack of computers used in schools
Lack of teacher training programs
Government initiative to upgrade educational offerings
Budget overruns in the school system
Inequities in schools between rural and urban areas (need for distance delivery)
Presence of underutilized videoconferencing/distance learning facilities
Low labour productivity
Desire to move from low-value-added to high-value-added activities
High youth unemployment rates
Industrial restructuring that requires training workers in traditional industries
Using new technologies
Lack of training programs in new technologies
New government policies on literacy development or ongoing learning
New government economic development initiatives requiring new skills
Initiatives to improve productivity
Lack of career development professionals or career guidance in schools
Lack of standardized testing of academic achievement
Lack of vocational testing
Lack of prior learning assessment capability
Lack of accreditation body for educational institutions
Lack of an association for trainers
Licensing of professionals
Requirements for continuing education to maintain professional licenses

Environmental Services

Environmental sustainability for ecotourism
Natural resources to be preserved
New environmental legislation imposed and enforced by government
Substandard factories
Pollution from mining or forestry operations
No public waste management system
Inadequate potable water
Air quality concerns
Mega projects requiring environmental impact assessments
Introduction of new technology with environmental consequences
Presence of strong environmental advocacy groups
Closing of military bases and/or weapons depositories
Existence of an Environment Ministry
Large congresses (e.g., G-8 summits)
Signatory to an environmental agreement
Disease from environmental factors
Natural disasters, requiring environmental clean-up

Geomatics

New technologies (e.g., RadarSat)
Increase in demand for forestry or mining products
Introduction of conservation measures
New environmental laws, regulations, or policies
Major transportation or utility projects - modernizing technology (e.g. mapping, remote sensing)
Major changes in market characteristics, such as a shift to market economy (land rights need to be established)
Provision of emergency services in rural/remote communities
Schemes to improve property tax collection

Health Services

Small government budget for health care
High percentage of special needs populations (infants, elderly, disabled)
Geographically dispersed population
High ratio of patients to doctors/nurses
High ratio of patients to hospital beds
Growing urban concentration
Growing upper/upper-middle class
High infant mortality rate
Low life expectancy
Above average percentage of obesity or AIDs
Presence of controllable infectious diseases
Environmental factors that put the population at risk
Lack of wellness or immunization programs
Lack of public health education
Lack of specialist expertise
Lack of pharmaceutical regulations
Lack of pharmacies, laboratories, x-ray, dental facilities
Lack of professional licensing programs or continuing education
Lack of paramedic training
Inadequate training capacity for health professionals
Lack of accreditation programs for health facilities
Inadequate medical records, or records not digitalized
Lack of health facilities for visiting foreigners
Waiting lists for urgent care
Lack of health benefits or health insurance programs
Restructuring or privatization of health care systems
Increase in demand for specialized health care facilities (e.g., nursing homes)

Information Technology / Computer Services

Increase in expenditures on IT in a given industry
Pressure for increased productivity - and use of IT
Pressure to reduce costs - and use of IT
Increased public use of online service delivery - internet, e-mail, e-commerce etc.
Shift towards e-government, e-learning, e-health
Major activity in key markets such as: banking and finance, business services, education and training, health care, insurance, wholesale & retail trade, government, utilities

Legal Services

Government restructuring
Plans to privatize government agencies
Regulatory/legislative changes due to trade treaties
Lack of regulatory framework for key professional services
Government tenders for policy development
Government plans for new legislation
Commercial law and judicial systems
Environmental, conservation, and resource management law
Constitutional and human rights law
Admiralty and maritime law
Banking, insurance, telecommunications, and administrative law
Planned regulatory reform (banking, insurance, telecom, transportation)
Sectoral Action Plans needing legal frameworks
Plans to join a new trade group
Protected sectors being opened to foreign competition
Trademark, patent, and intellectual property protection
Advice on trade treaty implications
Companies seeking to raise capital and providing information to underwriters;
Investors willing to operate/invest in your market
Companies anticipating jurisdictional disputes

Management Consulting Services

Political announcement of a problem area and an intent to address it
Meetings between government officials and potential funders (IFIs)
Donor-funded project announcements
Under-performance in state-owned enterprises
Plans to privatize state-owned enterprises
Changes in government priorities
Media pieces on loss of competitiveness
Public sector reform (education, health care, judiciary, utilities)
Sector competitiveness issues due to trade liberalization
Performance improvement and cost containment
Strengthening the governance of institutions
Corporate plans to enter new markets
Increase in the number of bankruptcies
Salaries increasing, putting pressure on cost competitiveness
Increased pressure for competitive quality and innovation
Requirements for ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14000 registration
Publicity regarding the importance of performance measurement
Public emphasis on accountability
An influx of major new foreign investors/competitors
Loss of a major employer
Increase in global operations & joint ventures
Concerns about corporate recovery and refinancing
MOUs with partner economies for private sector collaboration