BuildForce Canada Affirms Huge Career Opportunities in Residential Construction
Ottawa, ON - April 23, 2018 - The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) today welcomed a new report by BuildForce Canada that affirms the tremendous career opportunities available for young women and men in the residential construction industry.
“BuildForce estimates that our industry will need to hire over 100,000 new skilled workers in the coming decade,” noted Kevin Lee, CHBA’s CEO. “These are rewarding and well-paid jobs for those with the right training and the ambition to build a solid future in home building, renovation and repair,” he added.
The BuildForce Residential Summary report shows that residential construction directly employs over 580,000 Canadians, and that 21 percent of these workers–some 122,000–are expected to retire over the next ten years.
“As our workforce ages, the challenge will be in finding young tradespeople with the right skills to take over,” said Lee. “CHBA is committed to working with colleges and training institutions to make sure young people have access to the training they need to succeed in our industry,” he added.
“Despite slower employment growth in most provinces, recruitment pressures will intensify over the 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.”
“The insights provided by this BuildForce report are extremely valuable in setting out the workforce challenge our industry faces, and CHBA will be sharing this data with governments,” Lee noted. “We have been pleased to see the federal government become more actively engaged in promoting careers in construction, but there is much more that needs to be done. Our industry is one of the largest employers in Canada, and we need to work with governments to ensure young men and women have the skills needed to build a successful career in residential construction,” Lee concluded.
CHBA continues to actively promote the benefits of a career in the sector, and young people considering such a career (and their parents) can check out CHBA’s “Imagine Your Future in Residential Construction” for more information.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Journalists wishing to interview Kevin Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association are encouraged to submit their request by email or telephone to:
David Foster
Senior Director, Communications
(613) 230-3060 ext. 232
foster@chba.ca
ABOUT THE CANADIAN HOME BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION
Since 1943, the Canadian Home Builders' Association has been "the voice of Canada's residential construction industry" - one of the most vital and enterprising industries in Canada. Representing more than 8,500 member firms across Canada, CHBA members represent every part of Canada's housing industry - home builders, renovators, land developers, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers, building product suppliers, lending institutions, insurance providers, service professionals and others.
In 2016, the industry supported over 1 million jobs in new home construction, renovation and repair. It remains one of the largest employers in the country, with tens of thousands of business enterprises engaged. One of every 18 workers in Canada is working in residential construction, either directly on site or indirectly by supplying materials, technologies and services. Total wages paid in 2016 were estimated at $59.4 billion. The construction‐related value of new homes, renovations and repairs produced by the industry, including both on‐ and off‐site activities in 2016 exceeded $138 billion.