Ottawa – Canada’s construction industry will need to attract more young people and workers willing to move from other provinces, regions and countries, to meet its changing labour force needs, according to a new labour market forecast released today by BuildForce Canada.
“As major projects gear up and wind down, building a new and mobile workforce is an industry priority,” said Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “This will help fill the skills gap, as up to one-quarter of the construction workforce retires over the next decade.”
The 2014–2023 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward forecast released by BuildForce Canada, shows strong labour demands continue in the West as some markets slow in the East. As a result, more workers from other provinces and countries are needed, especially during peak periods.
Mobility is key to meeting industry needs over the next five years, with specialized skills and experience in short supply in some regions. As many as 300,000 new workers will be needed to replace retirees and meet project demands over the next 10 years. These demands differ across each province and trade.
BuildForce Canada’s annual forecast also highlights three distinct labour cycles across the following regions and sectors:
There will be recovery and expansion in Manitoba and sustained levels of employment in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Non-residential construction leads job growth, with a series major resource and utility/infrastructure projects providing cyclical workforce demands in many provinces and more moderate but steady growth in commercial and industrial sectors.
Residential construction slows as several provincial housing markets experience a brief downturn in 2013 before moderate recovery to 2015 and 2016. Residential employment remains below the 2007 peak until 2023 in some provinces. Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are moderately stronger, with a small gain in residential job growth from 2014 to 2023. A shift in the residential market is driven by slower population growth and new housing starts declining to come back in line with household formations. Renovation construction continues to grow, partially offsetting the decline in new construction.
“Meeting the demand for skilled labour takes long-range planning and investment,” added Sparks. “The focus in every region should be on a collective effort to draw youth, women, Aboriginal people and newcomers to construction careers and build the ranks of future specialists, foremen and supervisors.”
BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization committed to providing accurate and timely labour market data and analysis to assist in meeting workforce requirements and advancing the needs of Canada’s construction industry. BuildForce consults with industry stakeholders, including owners, contractors, labour groups and government to compile and validate its labour market information. Visit: www.constructionforecasts.ca.
For further information contact:
Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada
sparks@buildforce.ca
(905)-852-9186
Funded by the Government of Canada
Ottawa – A recent TD Economics report focusing on Canada’s skilled trades shortages may be masking real, and serious skilled labour challenges faced by Canada’s construction industry,” according to BuildForce Canada.
“The reality is that there are, and will be, acute skilled trade challenges within the construction industry in parts of Canada that simply cannot be ignored,” said Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada, a national industry-led organization that provides critical labour market forecasts. “While we support the TD Economics report recommendation that Canada cannot take a wait and see approach, this report does not address specific challenges revealed by a more detailed analysis of sector specific labour markets.”
Canada’s strong resource construction sector will continue to put significant pressure on an already tight labour market in Western Canada, Northern Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador over the next decade. In these provinces, challenges created by an aging workforce and skilled trades shortages are real. For example:
BuildForce Canada continually consults with industry and monitors the economic environment, proposed major construction projects and workforce supply, to provide annual in-depth construction labour market forecast data and reports that assist Canada’s construction industry in meeting the demand for skilled labour.
“Our forecasts indicate a shortfall of skilled construction tradespeople over the next decade, as new projects move forward and over 200,000 workers, or close to 25 per cent of the construction workforce retire,” Sparks added. “This is the time to be aggressive in planning for the future and promoting careers in skilled trades. Industry requires short-term and long-term strategies to ensure a skilled workforce is available to meet demand. Our economy also depends on it.”
BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization committed to providing accurate and timely labour market data and analysis to assist in meeting workforce requirements and advancing the needs of Canada’s construction industry. Visit: www.constructionforecasts.ca.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rosemary Sparks
Executive Director, BuildForce Canada
sparks@buildforce.ca
(905)-852-9186
Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.
