Securing the future: What a career in the trades really looks like

By Remi Ryel and Debbie De Sousa  February 12, 2024 

Canadian Contractor

We’re all feeling the pinch. As our baby boomer employees start transitioning into retirement, we’re wondering who, exactly, is going to fill those work boots. And while that pinch is being felt across the skilled trade industry, construction is particularly challenged.

Just like the old saying goes about doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result – the solution to a labour shortage involves taking a different approach…or several. It can look like recruiting from trade programs, sponsoring new Canadians, and developing employee skill sets (AKA “upskilling”). It’s about building a pipeline of diverse talent and encouraging a whole new generation of skilled workers to the construction trades.

There’s no shortage of initiatives to help support this goal, programs and funding backed by industry and government as a way to get more people interested in the skilled trades. And it’s working to some extent, but to really move the needle, we need a multi-faceted approach, and it starts with a fresh perspective of what a career in construction looks like.

Read more at Canadian Contractor.ca