RC115 NovDec 2024 - Magazine - Page 19
also not targeting immigration necessarily in the trades that we need
the most. The credential recognition program is a good idea, but
the provincial nominee program that we have in B.C. targets people
who already have a line on a job o昀昀er. We need to bring in people
with the skills we need and put them in a job. So, I think there’s
work to be done.
BILL FERREIRA: The construction industry has been experiencing, since
the early 2000s, a signi昀椀cant decline in admissions of individuals
with the kinds of skilled trades experience that the construction industry needs. We went from individuals with certi昀椀cates of apprenticeship and non-apprenticeship certi昀椀cates at approximately nine
per cent of annual admissions down to around two per cent by 2021.
The reality is we can do a lot to increase recruitment domestically,
but immigration is going to be a signi昀椀cant part of that labour force
mix. It will be not only a supplement, but as landed immigrants
make up a larger and larger share of the overall workforce in Canada, we need to ensure the construction industry continues to get its
share of landed immigrants, otherwise what have been acute labour
shortages thus far, will become chronic.
BARRY MURPHY: Canada’s so multicultural, it’s very appealing. It’s one
of those countries in the world, that nobody has a bad word to say
about. I do think we need more of a government push to show that
these careers are available in this country. We’ve got to sell what future there is here for, not just the parents, but that there are apprenticeships for their children.
We need to make the process, from a government perspective,
easy, fast, and convenient. If we put the onus on the people who are
coming over to 昀椀gure it out, it’s not going to work. We’re doing a lot,
but that extra push would make a huge di昀昀erence to the overall market availability of labour and encourage people to get their family
members into the industry.
MYKE BADRY: It’s up to us as industry to lobby the government to do
more and more looks like direct targeted action to recruit people that
are going to be here to 昀椀ll our skilled labour gap. And recruitment
looks di昀昀erent in di昀昀erent places and living in the GTA, I meet people all the time that have recently come to Canada and many have
found themselves in the service industry frustrated with the cost of
living. And I’ll get into a conversation about the bene昀椀ts of construction and they just simply don’t even know it’s a viable option for a
career path. And I think there is a huge onus on us to create structured programs that are directly targeted at 昀椀lling these spots.
How can the construction industry diversify its hiring approaches to
encourage workers from traditionally under-represented groups—including women, Indigenous Peoples, and newcomers to Canada—to
join its ranks?
BARRY MURPHY: A lot of progress has been made in this area in recent
years, but you have to look at it from di昀昀erent perspectives. Larger
organizations such as EllisDon and PCL, companies that have got
the ability to invest in these things that recognize the importance, are
able to have fantastic people and culture teams and leaders who are
put in place. The challenge is at smaller companies—that’s where
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