Dire need seen for building trades


Canada will require 250,000 workers over next decade, report says

 
Tony Wong
Business Reporter

Canada needs at least an additional 250,000 construction workers over the next eight years to keep pace with new projects and replenish an aging workforce, an industry report says.

"We are facing some significant labour challenges that are impacting us and will impact us in the future if we don't resolve them," said George Gritziotis, executive director of the Construction Sector Council.

Canada-wide, employment in the industry has increased by a record 39 per cent over the last five years, but that influx won't be enough, said the report.

"The immediate and urgent need is for qualified and experienced workers," it said.

Western provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia are hardest hit by the shortage of workers. Ontario, possibly facing a recession, is expected to have zero growth in its construction labour force over the next four years.

Ontario building permits fell by 16 per cent last month to $2 billion. The housing market has also peaked as starts are expected to retreat over the next several years.

Still, much of the slack is being replaced by non-residential construction projects and Ontario will face significant labour shortages in the longer term if retiring workers aren't replaced, said the council – a non-profit partnership between the construction industry and government.

"There are not a flood of workers on the streets," said Gritziotis.

For one thing, other provinces are likely to bleed workers from Ontario in favour of more lucrative jobs, especially this year and next, said the report. Possible large-scale infrastructure projects are on the horizon, including nuclear electrical generation plants, that the province could have a difficult time finding labour for.

Manpower shortages on construction sites inevitably cause wage inflation as companies up the ante to finish projects on time.

The 2010 Olympic site in Whistler, B.C., for example, was initially budgeted at $400 million and the cost has now almost doubled, said Gritziotis.

"When demand exceeds supply, you have cost overruns with wage rates that are a huge portion of that," he said.

Tim Smith, senior vice-president of Ellis Don, said it is a constant struggle for industry to maintain a skilled workforce.

"We have a lot of skilled, capable people out there, but we haven't kept pace in replenishing them," Smith said. "In Ontario, despite the economic slowdown we're still under pressure to build projects."

The construction council said retaining older employees while encouraging new people to join trades is one way to stem the flow.

The council also wants to see an increase in the number of temporary foreign workers, as well as a focus on recruiting Canadian women and aboriginal people.

"Attracting young people to start their careers in construction will be an increasingly hard sell" as the population gets older, said the report.

When the building industry started to recover in 1996, it drew workers largely from the unemployed ranks and from veteran workers who had left the industry during the early '90s, said the council.

"By 2000 this source had been exhausted" while the economy continued to grow, leading to what the council said is a crisis situation today.

Key trades in demand include boilermakers, construction managers and supervisors, millwrights, crane and heavy equipment operators, insulators and ironworkers, said the council.