The impacts of the pandemic on the construction industry have forced people to recognize the significant role that the skilled trades and construction technology will have on economic recovery. This industry needs to take advantage of these new perspectives by continuously recruiting, training, and supporting skilled workers and those young individuals looking to pursue these rewarding careers.
In late June, Skills Ontario released important information to help construction businesses on their journey to recovery. This included business roadmaps for successful recovery, what skilled trades are in high demand (both short-term and long-term), and how to find and retain talented skilled workers.
Skills Ontario is taking some necessary steps to improve the Province’s shortage of skilled workers within the industry including the promotion, growth, and distribution of jobs. A team is also being assigned to focus on the building of relationships between businesses and schools.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen almost 2 million Canadians lose their jobs as a result of the economic downfall. This, however, is a different story when it comes to the construction industry, more specifically for skilled trades workers. The construction trades still have an abundance of employment opportunities and demand for workers, despite the economic decline happening around the world.
While we don’t know exactly how the process of economic recovery within Canada will go, we do know that the construction industry will play a big role in this comeback and that we need to promote long-term careers in the skilled trades now more than ever.