Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/280096
March 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 35 Workforce Shortage governments, and is scheduled to come into effect April 1. Under the original plan, $15,000 would be provided per worker for skills training. Funding would be a three- way split between the government levels and employers. Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney has since offered to pick up the provincial/territorial share as well – with a catch: Labor Market Agreements (LMA) between governments would be cut by close to $300 million, nearly 60 percent. But the second-tier governments object to the federal level siphoning from existing agreements that provide skills training for young adults, aboriginals, new immigrants, older workers, people with disabilities and other groups under-represented in the workforce. They want all that and the CJG too! "Ministers are united in their concerns and expressed disappointment that you continue to propose to fund the Canada Job Grant through substantial cuts to LMA programs," Prince Edward Island Innovation Minister Allen Roach wrote to Kenney. The two ministers co-chair the national Forum of Labour Market Ministers. Kenney countered that provincial/territorial concerns were weighed and the CJG design was significantly restruc- tured based on that feedback. He insisted the structure reflects the fact employers know better than governments what training needs exist. Worker-deprived employers say shortages aren't just about lack of skilled applicants. It's becoming difficult to get warm bodies – any warm bodies – to fill positions despite excellent wages and training offered. The high demand is largely because almost all natural resources industries are booming in Canada, competing with one another for the same skill sets and to get those seats occupied. Be it oil and gas development, mining, forestry or manufacturing, having the right people is critical to delivering projects on time and on budget. Over the next eight years, large projects in several regions of the country will generate increased demand in construction and related trades. "The construction industry will need to replace 210,000 retiring workers and add 42,000 more to keep pace with rising demand," noted Michael Atkinson of the Canadian Construction Association. "Of the total requirement, about 152,000 will come from domestic sources; the remaining 100,000 will have to come from outside the industry, or possibly from outside the country." Truck driving is a related occupation where the deficit could reach 33,000 within seven years, warns David Bradley, president and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alli- ance. The oil and gas industry alone supports 550,000 jobs across the country, and that number is expected to double over the next decade. "Labour shortages are an issue shared with other industries," said David Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. "We need to work collectively to ensure necessary labor force growth." Mining Association of Canada President Pierre Gratton cautions that industry context is essential in understand- ing the worker shortages. "Sweeping claims about shortages across the whole economy can misrepresent important industry-specific trends and regional labor market pressures." Meanwhile, forest product companies have set a goal of recruiting at least 60,000 workers by the end of the decade. "This is going to be an ongoing challenge for our sector," said David Lindsay, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada. As Van Exan mentioned, to help ease the strain of unfilled jobs, industries are combining with educational institutions to attract more young people to certain occupations and to maximize training and retention efforts. In the U.S., The AED Foundation fosters community-based relationships between post-secondary technical schools and neighboring equipment dealerships and manufactur- ers. The Foundation is also devoted to undoing stereotypes and improving the image of technician careers. Canadian distributor members also have access to recruiting tools and workforce-building resources at aedworkforce.com. The Ontario Construction Secretariat is another organi- zation hoping to dispel the myth that a university degree is the only path to a rewarding career by placing a spotlight firmly on the skilled trades. CEO Sean Strickland cites several projects – such as public transit expansion across the Greater Toronto Area, mining in Northern Ontario and infrastructure required for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto – that are fuelling the regional labor demand. To help entice young people into the trades and meet that demand, the OCS is spon- soring "Future Building," a three-day construction career expo aimed at students Grades 7-12. It'll take place within the GTA at Mainway Recreation Center in Burlington, April 8-10. "Students who learn a trade have excellent prospects of quickly establishing themselves in a viable, sustainable and honorable career," Strickland affirmed. According to Hodgins at Wajax, the equipment sector needs to buff up its marketing to high school prospects. "We're just not seen as sexy to 18-year-olds. They envision guys covered in oil, grease and mud with big wrenches in their hands. These days, our jobs are sophisticated; they're more about the latest technology than about wrenches." TOM VAN DUSEN JR. has written for daily and weekly newspapers in Canada for more than 40 years. A freelancer based near Ottawa, Ont., his specialties include the general economy, politics, agriculture and the environ- ment. He can be reached at 613-445-3407, tomvandusen@sympatico.ca.