Last year the Construction Sector Council's Labour Market Information Program identified a need to replace 152,000 skilled workers who will be retiring over the next 10 years.
"This represents a significant training need," says George Gritziotis, Executive Director of the Construction Sector Council (CSC). "Trades training is key to the future of the industry, to the future of our economy really," he adds.
That's one of the reasons that the CSC has signed a partnership agreement with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). The two organizations will collaborate to make the right training available to develop the next generation of skilled tradespeople.
"It's a perfect fit," says ACCC President James Knight. "The CSC has the data that shows what training is needed, when and where. The ACCC can make that training a reality. And together we will work on marketing."
As Mr. Knight explains "ACCC strives to increase the responsiveness of colleges and institutes to sectoral labour needs. This agreement with the Construction Sector Council is a step in the right direction. Construction has been a highly successful Canadian industry, but it is now hampered by a critical shortage of skilled labour. Colleges and institutes must find the means to meet these needs."
The CSC is also interested in exploring e-learning opportunities with the ACCC and its member colleges. The CSC houses an e-learning centre with four existing courses and plans to develop nine more. "We hope to provide courses that support existing college offerings and meet new and emerging industry needs, such as supervision, for example," Mr. Gritziotis says.
The CSC is a partnership between labour, business and government with a mandate to address the human resource needs of the construction industry. The ACCC is the national and international voice of Canada's colleges and institutes. It helps member institutions to meet Canada's education and training needs.
Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada's
Sector Council Program.