La Cité’s skilled trades programs gives students a head start to a well-paid, satisfying career path
Despite a shortage of skilled workers needed to fill high-paying, good-quality jobs in the trades across Canada, Patrick Mainville, the director of the Skilled Trades Institute at le Collège La Cité, noted that many parents continue to steer their children toward academic pursuits without considering other options.
With the construction industry booming across the country, there’s a big demand for skilled workers, explained Mainville, and the shortage of personnel means good wages for those with the skills that employers want.
“We have a whole generation of workers to replace as all the current, more experienced, skilled trades workers are Baby Boomers and they’re all retiring,” said Mainville, citing statistics about the average age of welders and masons in Ontario being in their 50s.
“There’s also a big financial incentive to take on a career in skilled trades,” he added. “I’m looking at the college parking lot right now and we have a bunch of apprentices that are here for their last training level — and there are probably 50 to 60 brand new pickup trucks sitting in the parking lot.”
Mainville noted that many of these students are in their early 20’s and are already making $70,000 to $80,000 per year and are essentially being paid to learn as part of their apprenticeship training.
High-tech tools like computers and specialized scanners have changed trades in recent years and are making these professions more cerebral and less physical, which adds to the overall satisfaction level of people who work in the trades, Mainville says.
“Using a hammer or trowel in certain trades is still part of what a tradesman might need to use on a daily basis, but technology is having a positive impact on making the work a lot more enjoyable and a lot less physical,” said Mainville.
La Cité trains students from the National Capital Region, and beyond, in a wide range of skilled trades. Much of their construction program is taught in their state of the art workshops and installations at the Centre des métiers Minto. Located at their Orléans campus, the centre is where students learn brick and stone work, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration and air conditioning. This summer, they will become the only certified college in Ontario to offer a sprinkler and fire protection installer program.
They also train students to become childhood development practitioners, automobile mechanics, machinists, millwrights and welders.
For more information on Collège La Cité’s skilled trades programs, visit
MARK STACHIEW