b'RECRUITMENTcommunity, and offer the freedom to work anywhere. Similarly, adds Ferreira, the industry also needs to reach their parents and make sure they appreciate that a career in the trades can be just as lucra-tive and fulfilling as one based on a university degree.Its a multi-faceted problem, to be sure. Not only have parents and educators alike focused their career-promotion efforts almost THE GTA CHALLENGE exclusively on fields that require post-secondary credentials, jobs in the trades have traditionally been viewed as second choices Ontario is a diverse province. As such, labour market conditionsor back-up plans next to can vary significantly between jurisdictions. Case in point,other professions.Northern Ontario and the GTA are set to lose nearly a quarter of their skilled trades workers to retirement over the decade,Promisingly, several organizations while Eastern, Central and Southwestern Ontario may farein the construction sector are slightly better with losses of 21, 17, and 18 per cent, respectively. taking a more vested interest in bridging that gap under All told, the GTA will likely be the hardest hit with 40,700 ofthe umbrella of the Ontario its workers on track to leave the industry by 2029. Although anConstruction Careers Alliance. estimated 32,600 new workers are expected to join during thisOCCA has a dedicated career period, a significant recruitment gap of nearly 8,100 workers iscoordinator who visits high expected to emerge.schools across Ontario to tout the benefits of the trades to When you add the recruitment gap to the projectedteachers, guidance counsellors and requirements required to keep pace with known constructionstudents alike. These engagements demands, the industry in the GTA will need to recruit asinvolve bringing in professionals many as 20,000 new workers from either outside the regionsfrom various trades and sectors, workforce, outside the province, from other industries orincluding OSWCA representatives, from other countries, says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director ofto share stories, successes and BuildForce Canada. Province-wide, that number is 22,000. So,insights from their jobs.this really is a challenge for the GTA. A lot of students still have this negative stereotype about construc-tion being dirty and not the most appealing career, whereas were showing them firsthand that there are lots of different dimensions to the industry, says Manahan. RCCAO and many organizations, including OSWCA, support the Job Talks campaign, an initiative aimed at refreshing the construc-tion industrys image. Fifty videos have been made profiling dozens of younger construction workers, both male and female, who explain their trade and why it is fulfilling PROVIDINGto them. As such, one video per PRECASTweek could be distributed through social media over the course of SOLUTIONSthe next year to spotlight the SINCE 1984 opportunities available. Similarly, BuildForce Canadas Annual Labour Market informa-tion outlook and its careersincon-struction.ca website have proven to be effective tools for linking 24 H 2 OSWCAWinter/Spring 2020'