Many building sites, be they construction of roads, commercial or institutional building, and even the habitation sector operate at full capacity in Quebec, when an increase of 11 % has been registered in the first part of the year, compared to the same period last year.
When construction rolls, everything rolls! These results have been made public by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ), which mentions that Quebec workers will be taking a well-deserved holiday of two weeks at the end of the month of July.
« We are in for another annual record », says André Menard, the president director-general of the CCQ.
If the trend maintains itself, the year 2008 will easily surpass the year 2007, when 137 500 workers had reported 126 million working hours. Presently, activity is at 133 million hours, and, compared to last year, institutional and commercial construction have jumped by 13 %, whereas industrial and residential construction have grown by 12 %.
Also, road and infrastructure works have increased by 13 %. One should also mention that 14 000 new workers have joined the construction ranks last year and one believes that this result will perpetuate itself over the next four years.
For those who are afraid of manpower shortages, the president of the CCQ responds: “Nothing to worry about, we’ll take care of that. We have in Quebec an exemplary training system, and the trades in construction are very popular. With the support of the CCQ, contractors and syndicates alike are closely watching needs, whereas the schools also do their part. One should also continue to woo the immigrant population and better integrate women into construction trades. “