As the Canadian economy grows at a steady pace all sectors are expanding and the supply of skilled labour is a concern.
In construction for example Canada will see more than one fifth of its construction labour force retire . In 1996 Canada’s construction sector employed over 700,000 people. Today that number has grown to 1.4 million.
However by 2027 about 21% of the workforce will be older than 65 years old with the percentage of workers retiring in Atlantic Canada expected to be 25%.
Toronto is suffering and demand for construction talent is at an all time high for both tradespeople and construction professionals.
To meet this growing need for skilled workers Canada’s construction sector will need to look at innovative concepts that will increase labour supply and reach our to Canadians overseas who left the country when building demand was low.
Ontario for example will lose 85,000 workers in the next 10 years and with less than 505 of that number enrolling for apprenticeship we can see the concern Ontario will need double the 85,000 workers that are retiring around 170,000 skilled workers.
In Newfoundland and Labrador the situation is somewhat different with BuildForce pointing out that the Province is expected to lose up to 30% of its workforce as nearly 7000 workers go over the next four years as major projects wind down. The big risk for Newfoundland is that the construction industry in the Province will not have the skilled workers it needs when new projects start up again.
In Nova Scotia the issue is replacing retirees with around 9000 workers retiring from the sector over the next 10 years – that’s a 25% of the entire construction worker number in the Province .Nova Scotia has one of the oldest population in Atlantic Canada with a a small pool of young workers to draw from.
In Saskatchewan the construction sector is looking at the rise of home construction will planned starts of major new mining and utility projects which will rise the Provinces construction workforce to well above the historical levels.
In Ottawa the planned ramp-up of major projects starting in 2019 ,from planned pipeline to transportation and liquefied natural gas will caused significant recruitment challenges with over 16,000 new workers needed.
This interesting “mixed bag ” of figures across the Province should point returnees to Provinces that are showing huge current demand. However as the Canadian economy grows Nationally it is anticipated that jobs in construction will rise in all Provinces in the near term.
If you wish to return home to work on construction send your details to greg@back4good.ca today and we will take it from there for you.
If you are a construction contractor looking to find skilled tradespeople or construction professionals lets have a conversation today b4gmedia@icloud.com