Construction workforce pressures increase across
Canada as activities level off
Canada’s construction industry must remain focused on
recruitment and retention as more than one quarter of a mil-lion
construction workers are expected to retire this decade,
according to the latest labour market forecast released today
by BuildForce Canada.
While slow and uneven construction job growth is antici-pated
this decade as construction activity levels off, the
notable provincial exceptions are B.C.’s lower mainland and
Ontario’s central and eastern regions, where rising project
demands have outpaced the available local workforce.
“Despite slower employment growth in most provinces,
recruitment pressures will intensify with the estimated
retirement of up to 21 per cent of Canada’s construction
workforce this decade,” said Bill Ferreira, executive director
of BuildForce Canada. “Simply put, the industry must remain
focused on recruitment, training and mentoring efforts to
prevent a potential skills and capacity gap over the next
10 years.”
BuildForce Canada’s 2018–2027 Construction and Main-tenance
Looking Forward forecast shows construction
activity is expected to soften in most provincial markets due
to the aging population and weaker demand for Canadian
natural resources.
Despite this trend, the workforce is estimated to rise by
approximately 22,000 workers by the end of the decade, as
modest gains in non-residential job growth outpace small
declines in residential construction. Public infrastructure
modernization and growing demand for residential reno-vation
and heavy industrial maintenance activity should
help sustain industry employment over the decade. Major
transportation, utility and other infrastructure projects are
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expected to nudge non-residential employment up a further
3 per cent, or 18,400 workers to a near-term peak in 2020. That
growth is concentrated in Ontario and British Columbia,
driven by major nuclear refurbishment, LNG (liquefied natu-ral
gas), energy and transportation infrastructure projects.
Steady job growth related to anticipated increases in demand
for commercial and institutional building construction will
prevail in most provinces. While slower population growth
may lead to lower demand for new housing construction,
any declines should be offset mainly by rising renovation and
maintenance activity.
BuildForce Canada’s forecast also shows several common
themes across most provinces:
• Commodity price uncertainty and changing global
demands translate into resource development project
delays and cancellations across Canada. As a result, engi-neering
construction employment is expected to decline
by 4 per cent this decade, partly offset by planned invest-ments
in infrastructure modernization.
• Major public transportation and other infrastructure
projects add to employment opportunities across most
provinces, boosted by federal and provincial infrastruc-ture
investments.
• Maintenance work (heavy industrial and non-residential
buildings) is on a steady but moderate increase this
decade, with higher demands expected this year in
Alberta and New Brunswick.
“To meet labour requirements and counter rising retire-ments,
as many as 277,000 new construction workers will be
needed this decade,” said Ferreira. “With increasing competi-tion
for a shrinking pool of young people, it will be necessary
to step up recruitment efforts to attract greater numbers of
new Canadians, women and Indigenous people to Canada’s
construction workforce.”
Highlights of BuildForce Canada’s 2018–2027 Construction
and Maintenance Looking Forward forecast can be found for
each province at www.constructionforecasts.ca.
BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization
that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction indus-try.
Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour
market data and analysis, as well as programs and initia-tives
to help manage workforce requirements and build the
capacity and the capability of Canada’s construction and
maintenance workforce.
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“With increasing competition
for a shrinking pool of young
people, it will be necessary to
step up recruitment efforts
to attract greater numbers of
new Canadians, women and
Indigenous people to Canada’s
construction workforce.”
– Bill Ferreira, BuildForce Canada
PILING CANADA 93
/www.constructionforecasts.ca
