RC113 JulyAugust 2024 - Magazine - Page 30
LABOUR
CLOSING THE GAP
Changes are needed to Canada’s immigration system to ensure
the construction sector can respond to growth by Bill Ferriera
C
Bill Ferriera, is the
Executive Director of
BuildForce Canada
and member of ReNew
Canada’s Editorial
Advisory Board.
30
RENEW CANADA – JULY/AUGUST 2024
Over the next 10 years, the construction sector is anticipated to start
work on, or deliver, more than $450 billion worth of residential and nonresidential projects.
for construction services across the country, particularly
during the post Second World War era. At the same time,
they helped to build out the homes, schools, and other
assets required to integrate quickly into the fabric of Canadian society.
Things have changed since. The last 30 years in particular have seen a shift in Canada’s immigration-selection
policy that has disproportionately favoured university-educated individuals and has by extension left the construction sector with greatly diminished access to the vast pool
of international talent it desperately needs.
BuildForce Canada published a report earlier this year
that examines the current state of immigration policies at
the national level and across Canada’s provinces and territories. Developed with the support of a variety of stakeholders from across the construction sector, the report concludes that Canada’s immigration system is 昀氀awed when
it comes to supporting construction’s personnel needs. It
advances four consensus principles for consideration to
help guide immigration reforms. These principles were
designed to improve the sector’s access to skilled workers
from abroad to help mitigate the development of future
labour force gaps and enable the industry to continue to
deliver the homes, roads, bridges, and o昀케ces that Canada
needs to maintain its global economic competitiveness and
high standard of living.
GETTY IMAGES
ANADA IS BUILDING at a rate never seen before.
Over the next 10 years, the construction sector
is anticipated to start work on, or deliver, more
than $450 billion worth of residential and non-residential projects. These are the homes, roads,
schools, community centres, light rail transit lines,
o昀케ce buildings, manufacturing facilities, and warehouses
that Canadians depend upon every day to live their lives
and further their livelihoods.
And while this news is undeniably good—construction
activity is a visible sign of economic growth—the sector
has been struggling to keep pace with demand even prior
to the onset of the pandemic. The gap between demand
and the available supply of workers will only expand over
the next decade as more than one-昀椀fth of the industry’s
current workforce becomes retirement eligible.
By 2033, BuildForce Canada projects the construction
industry could face a hiring gap of more than 85,500 workers. Closing it will require the industry to not only enhance its e昀昀orts to recruit new entrants among traditional
channels such as provincial apprenticeship systems, but
also diversify its hiring approaches to encourage workers
from traditionally under-represented groups—including
women, Indigenous Peoples, and newcomers to Canada—
to join its ranks.
This last group has historically been a strong contributor to construction’s labour force. For generations, new arrivals from overseas prided themselves on practising their
trades in Canada. Their diverse skills and talents enabled
the industry to respond e昀昀ectively to the rising demands
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