Canada needs apprentices after pandemic disruption

Ottawa, industry join forces to meet the challenge, writes Sean Strickland.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the loss of thousands of workers who were laid off or left the labour force during the height of the pandemic restrictions.

Meanwhile, health and safety concerns, constrained consumer spending and delays in project starts — not to mention the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic — all contributed to a significant drop in the number of apprentices that entered the skilled trades.

According to Buildforce Canada, although the reasons for the decline aren't certain, the data shows that labour force declines were concentrated among the experienced core working-age workers between the ages of 45 and 64 (-4.8%), as well as less-experienced apprentice-aged workers between the ages of 25 and 34 (-9.8%). The specific age distribution of the declines suggests the losses can be attributed to:

Older workers accelerating retirement plans;

■ Workers with young children or elderly parents in need of care;

■ Less-experienced workers and apprentices exiting in the early months of the pandemic.

Clearly, the pandemic created unprecedented circumstances for the construction industry, which, combined with an aging workforce and the tremendous amount of projects underway or upcoming, has created a very challenging dynamic.

We need more workers and we need them now.

Canada's building and construction trade unions from coast to coast have a long history of attracting, training and retaining Canadians in the skilled trades. We've worked hard to make our workplaces more inclusive and break down barriers to equity-deserving groups to diversify our workforce. And, it's working.

But the cost to take on a new apprentice, invest in their training and ensure they have a broad scope of work to become a well-rounded tradesperson requires a large investment.

Small and medium-sized contractors don't always have the resources large companies do to set aside for apprenticeship programs.

This is why the Apprenticeship Service Program — a federally funded initiative to help apprentices get started in the skilled trades — is a very welcome program to help our industry attract new people.

Through this program, small and medium-sized contractors can receive $5,000 for each first-year apprentice they hire in an eligible Red Seal (nationally certified) trade, and the incentive is doubled to $10,000 if the apprentice hired is from an equity-deserving group.

Canada's Building Trades Unions (CBTU) have been selected as an intermediary in this program.

Thanks to funding being made available through this program, the CBTU will be offering a customized version called In The Trades in partnership with affiliates and local labour councils, including the Building Trades of Alberta.

In addition to financial incentives, employers will be able to access other supports, such as diversity and inclusion, and mental health awareness training, making it easier to hire first-year apprentices.

We have our work cut out for us.

But the building trades have always set the gold standard for training. Our unions and contractors jointly co-ordinate training through 193 training centres across the country to make sure our apprentices and tradespeople get the world-class education they need to meet the changing needs of industry. There's opportunity — for everyone — to start a career in the trades.

And the construction industry needs you.

It will be quite a challenge to fill the gap. But Canada's 600,000 tradespeople are used to facing tough challenges.

This one will be no different.