Ontario needs more construction workers and Conestoga College hopes to help
High number of construction projects, large retiring workforce contribute to labour shortage: report
Ontario is going to need tens of thousands new construction workers over the next decade if it wants to keep up with industry demands.
A recent 10-year outlook report from BuildForce Canada said Ontario is going to need an estimated 95,700 construction workers to keep up with high construction demands, as more than 86,000 workers are expected to retire in the next 10 years.
"That's certainly challenging the industry to find the skilled trade workers that it requires to keep pace with these construction demands," said Bill Ferreira, executive director for BuildForce Canada.
"Right now we're seeing tight labour markets over the next couple of years and again in 2025 and 2026."
Boilermakers, brick layers, heavy duty equipment technicians, industrial electricians and welders are anticipated to be most in need to keep pace with anticipated retirement rates, Ferreira adds.
Student recruitment
Conestoga College president John Tibbits said he hopes the college will help solve that problem.
The college recently purchased the former 250,000 square-foot Erwin Hymer plant on Reuter Drive in Cambridge that will help expand the college's trades programs.
"That will be the largest trades facility in Ontario that I'm aware of in any college and it has potential to grow further," Tibbits said.
"Our goal is to be at the forefront of trades."
The college has a number of recruitment efforts to get more people involved in the trades, especially efforts to recruit more women through the school's Jill of All Trades programs and events.
Tibbits says more effort is also needed to emphasize the value of working in skilled trade professions.
"We need a real commitment to change people's ideas in the school system about how important trades are and [their] value," he said.
