T he demographic hurdle facing the construction industry is well known by now. As members of the baby boomer generation have retired, the flow of new talent into the industry is unable to fill the gap, and in the coming years the shortfall is only going to get worse. There’s no doubt the demand for labour is going to get more acute, but the trades, whether voluntary or skilled, face a challenge: a longstanding stigma in the educa- tion system. “Everyone’s looked at the demographics, and they don’t look good,” says Andrew Pariser, FEATURE – EDUCATION CONSTRUCTION AS A CAREER DESTINATION vice president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). “You can look at the studies by BuildForce Canada, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Toronto Region Board of Trade – the statistics I’ve seen run from 75,000 to 150,000 people who will be needed to fill upcoming vacancies.” BY ANDREW BROOKS Facing a labour crunch, the construction industry gets the word out about its value as a career choice 18 UNDERGROUNDER Fall 2018