NAIT’S plan to tackle provincial skilled trade shortage
Alberta’s skilled labour shortage is reaching a crisis point; thanks to recordbreaking population growth, opportunities and optimism abound. But unless we secure the workforce we need – and soon – the province’s economy and the billions of dollars in forecasted projects will be in jeopardy, furthering the sustainability challenges Albertans are already facing.
Take housing, for example. Edmonton’s rapid population growth shows no sign of slowing as record numbers of Canadians move to Alberta. Last year saw the highest interprovincial gains ever recorded for not just the province but for any in the country since data started being recorded – a staggering 184,400 people.
On top of that, more than 30,000 international newcomers were expected to arrive in Edmonton last year, just slightly fewer than in 2022, when the city experienced net international migration nearly three times the 20-year average.
These tens of thousands of new arrivals from across Canada are putting historic pressure on the city’s housing. As a result, not only is the current stock rapidly running out, but Edmonton’s developers and builders are reaching a pinch point for one of the most essential resources in their arsenal: skilled workers.
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (NAIT) president and CEO, Laura Jo Gunter, is well aware of the challenge facing Edmonton and the rest of the province. “With baby boomers retiring out of the workforce in large numbers, we need to attract more young people to pursue skilled trades as a meaningful career,” she said.
Housing isn’t the only casualty of the worker crunch. According to the Resource Diversification Council, there are $22 billion in projects planned for Alberta. If the province can’t muster the 20,000 to 30,000 skilled workers needed, the province stands to lose out on over $100 billion in GDP and nearly $32 billion in tax revenues.
The provincial government has long struggled with the challenge. Beginning in 2019, it introduced a range of initiatives to train and attract skilled workers. The measures are helping, but not quickly enough. Part of the problem, according to Gunter, is that Alberta doesn’t have the necessary education and training infrastructure. “Alberta may be home to some of the world’s best polytechnics, but these facilities need to be updated if they’re to accommodate more students and host new technologies and tools,” she explained.
As one of Alberta’s leading polytechnics, NAIT has a solution. Planning has started for a state-of-theart Advanced Skills Centre to attract and graduate the workers critical to the province’s economy. Designed in partnership with industry to ensure graduates are market-ready, the Centre will create a 33 per cent capacity increase for grads in skilled trades and technology programs.
Once operational, NAIT’S proposed facility will have the additional capacity to train and graduate up to 4,200 more apprentices. That will mean up to 14,000 more skilled workers training or graduating every year to build homes, schools, hospitals and large-scale commercial and industrial projects.
To support growth across the entire province, programming will focus on four priority sectors. For the construction industry, which is experiencing record levels of labour demand, capacity will grow by 42 per cent annually. For the manufacturing and fabrication program, 58 per cent. The transportation program will increase capacity by 25 per cent. And the program devoted to the province’s all-important energy sector will grow by a staggering 68 per cent.
“The Centre will provide valuable exposure to integrated learning and advanced technology and tools that will ensure our graduates can seamlessly enter the workforce, to keep pushing our economies forward, to keep Alberta competitive and attractive to future investment,” said Gunter.
She concedes that it is an ambitious undertaking but says NAIT is up to the job. “We’re working hard with our partners in industry and government to make this Centre a reality. No other polytechnic in the province has our depth of expertise and connections to industry and can deliver on a project of this scale.”
Beyond bricks, mortar and programming, the Centre will also help raise awareness and understanding among youth, women, Indigenous People and newcomers about the pathways and opportunities they can find in skilled trades and technology careers.
“We need to overcome the misconception that a trade designation has less value, merit and worth than a four-year bachelor’s degree,” explained Gunter. “Young people need to know there is a secure, good-paying future in the trades.”
As a world-class postsecondary institute, NAIT has delivered the skilled workforce of tomorrow for more than 60 years, with more than 218,000 graduates to date. With its Advanced Skills Centre, it wants to drive Alberta’s economy forward for decades to come.
To learn more about NAIT, visit nait.ca.
THIS STORY WAS PROVIDED BY THE NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.