b'Studying hiring needs across the country, BuildForce estimateswith a higher level of employment. The industry is struggling to that hiring needs will drive this required growth of 54,100get its share of skilled workers. The government is introducing workers. Over this same period, however, some 245,100some measures, and were waiting to see just how effective these workers are expected to retire. At the industrys current level ofwill be from a construction perspective.recruitment, 237,800 workers would be expected to join the workforce. This leaves a shortfall of 61,400 skilled workers, whoBright Spotswill have to be sourced from outside the industrys usual pool ofThere are some bright spots in this picture for the mechanical recruits or from other countries. contracting sector. When it comes to the mechanical trades, This model, which is created and validated by provincial labourbecause theyre more directly engaged in apprenticeship market information committees, was built with input from keydevelopment, they do tend to recruit more [than] other segments construction industry stakeholders. It takes into considerationof the industry, says Ferreira.international trends and economic growth, domestic populationAlso, its relatively easy for potential recruits to imagine demographics, immigration and intra-provincial migration, themselves in a mechanical contracting position. Most young and investment demands for both the residential and non- people, when you say plumbing, have a pretty good idea of what residential sectors. a plumber would do. But when you say boilermaker, they might The projection also looks at labour supply demands for 34 tradesthink of a drink, Ferreira quips.and occupations for both the residential and non-residentialExposure to the construction trades isnt equal across the sectors; labour force changes over a 10-year period, includingindustry. For instance, almost everyone knows what an demand growth, retirements, new entrants and mobilityequipment operator or a carpenter would do. Generally speaking, requirements; and industry recruitment and diversification rates.Increasing Demands I think the mechanical trades are doing better then the rest of the Many other demands on the construction sector are increasingindustry, he says.dramatically, Ferreira says. These include the need for newHowever, there are still challenges in training and recruiting housing and increasing renovation demands from all parts ofenough skilled workers for the mechanical contracting sector, and the building world (residential, industrial, commercial andthese will take time to be resolved. In the short term, we need to institutional); new utility demands; and the need for newlook to tools such as immigration to help meet the needs of our industrial facilities to meet global demands for Canadian energy,industry, says Lancastle. In the longer term, we need to address agricultural, manufacturing and natural resources products. how we view careers in construction and demonstrate the great The construction labour force is aging. Statistics Canada figurescareers that are available in our sector. It will require a cultural show that in 1972, Canada had four individuals under the age ofshift so that Canadians value the trades and look at construction 15 for each one over 65. In 2022, on the other hand, 19 per centas a career they can build on, so to speak.of the population was 65 or older, with 20 per cent between the ages of 50 and 64, while only 16 per cent was under 15.The industry already feels the effect of these demographic shifts. We know that productivity has gone down, Ferreira says, pointing out that the number of workers is not the only factor; experience plays a key role too, as the retirement of the baby boom generation may lead to a loss of the industrys most experienced workers.Older workers are leaving, with years of experience and the ability to do jobs more effectively and quicker than someone who is new to the industry, he says. The last of the baby boom workers will be eligible for retirement by 2030.Furthermore, he points out, recruitment is increasingly challenging. Many young people are demonstrating a lack of interest in construction careers, while also being influenced by increased competition for skilled workers from other industries.The Immigration EffectImmigration policies also play a role. Ironically, there is increasing pressure on housing for new Canadians. Current policies do not support the selection of individuals with construction experience, particularly in the National Occupation Classification (NOC) TEER 4 and 5 categories, and there are challenges in accessing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to supplement domestic workforce requirements.Ferreira points to such initiatives as the Canadian Apprenticeship Research Program among useful tools to help fix this situation. Any time youre engaged in training, thats going to have an impact on seasoned journeypersons [because they will need to604-460-1278take extra time to train new recruits], but its a necessity, he says.Also, he notes, Skilled tradespeople have a much morewwwwwccttssffllaannggeeccaachallenging time being accepted into the country than peoplewNATIONAL BULLETIN | Issue 2, 202325'