Recent changes to an immigration policy intended to improve labour shortages across Canada are getting mixed reviews from Centretown construction companies, whose concerns are far more complex than just needing more workers.
The new Federal Skilled Trades Program is designed to speed up the arrival of high-demand foreign tradespeople into Canada and ease reliance on temporary labour.
Electricians, crane operators, and welders are among the 26 eligible in-demand jobs. With the new program, skilled trades applicants no longer have to meet the same criteria used for the rest of the federal skilled worker category.
In Centretown, the recent construction boom signals a need for skilled workers. Bronson Avenue has been under construction since March, and new projects on Preston Street and Bronson Avenue are slated to reach record heights of more than 30 storeys.
Centretown is the city’s leader in high-rise development. In the last quarter of 2012, 193 multi-storey buildings were built in the neighbourhood. However, the Construction Sector Council indicates that the Canadian construction industry as a whole will need 320,000 new workers by 2020.
Louis Dugan, project manager for Doran construction in Centretown, says the company specifically needs carpenters, one of the eligible positions in the new program. Dugan currently uses temporary labourers and says they must simplify tasks to use less experienced workers.
“More skilled workers is a must,” says Dugan. “There should be a lot more effort put into pushing kids into construction.”
He adds that companies like PCL Construction have even gone overseas to supplement their workforce.
“The population of tradespeople is aging, and young people are not necessarily joining those professions at the same rate they would’ve in the past,” says Michael Waters, president of Minto Communities Ontario.
While Waters says he does not feel there is a severe labour shortage in Ottawa, the labour demands of large-scale infrastructure projects like the proposed light rail transit line could put pressure on the limited resources of Ottawa construction companies. He says he supports the new program, but has concerns over the ability of foreign workers to integrate into the Canadian workforce.
Norman Bloom, owner of Centretown company Stonehenge Masonry, attributes the quality of local trades programs as the reason for his lack of staffing issues, saying that he hires most of his staff out of the Algonquin College masonry program.
Jeff Clarke, section chairman for trade contractors for the Ottawa Construction Association, supports the changes but does not see the benefit for his company, Inflector Environmental Services. The company hires and trains all of their staff in Canada and has no need for foreign labour.
In its first year, the immigration department will accept 3,000 applications for a total of 43 eligible jobs. The program will give points to applicants who have a job offer in Canada and have basic proficiency in French or English. Additionally, applicants must prove they have recently worked in the trade and have a minimum of two years’ experience in the trade.