credits the convergence of programs
put forth by the advocacy groups Skills
Canada Manitoba and Career Trek, as
well as the hands-on learning possibilities
through colleges and apprenticeships, as
having helped to attract new entrants into
the industry.
“I can’t say enough good things about
the Skills Canada and Career Trek programs
offered here in Manitoba,” Poirier
said. “Like the one-day hands-on-learning
day for young people where they get to
touch and climb all over different pieces of
heavy construction equipment and tools,
or the workshops for young women and
youth in manufacturing boot camps.”
Nash Granger, a Grade 11 automotive
mechanic student at Crocus Plains
Regional Secondary school said, “Our
councillors and teachers do a really good
job promoting the various vocational
learning streams available to us. There
really isn’t any trade that I wouldn’t consider
to be a good career option for me,
except maybe hairdressing!”
Poirier also mentions how muchimproved
the learning experience is with
the blending of hands-on opportunities
and technology advancement. For example,
with online video tutorials available
to carpentry students, when it comes to
the hands-on workshops, they already
have gained some familiarity with the tools
from the videos. The trades have become
so technically advanced with everything
from computer-aided design software to
internet enabled or connected thermostats
and home appliances. This helps to
elevate trades beyond the traditional view
of “blue collar” work and attract the more
computer-savvy youth of today.
What about the individual trades in
rural Manitoba? A poll of CARM members,
with a brief questionnaire that asked
members to identify the areas of trade
shortages they have come across and why
they think the shortages exist, was conducted.
The results were not surprising
and align with the BuildForce assessment.
The areas with the biggest concern are
within the carpentry, electrical and general
labour trades. BuildForce research
indicates bricklayers, concrete finishers,
painters and roofers are additional areas
of concern. While these trades are finding
hiring difficult in Manitoba, the talent is
out there and available, compared to other
provinces; it is just taking a bit more effort
and resources to find them. Of the CARM
Manitoba has enjoyed a decade of
growth in the construction sector
since 2009, with a net increase of
over 12,000 workers through 2019,
peaking at just over 40,000 workers.
members who participated in the poll, the
majority indicated they use higher rates of
compensation, equipment/tool refunds
and/or paid education/learning to attract
and retain talent.
As industry moves beyond this third
wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and
begins an upswing boom cycle in most
sectors, keeping an eye on the labour
workforce and pace of new entrants
versus Boomers retiring will be important.
However, given the programs provincial
advocacy groups and educational institutions
are promoting, rural Manitoba’s
construction industry looks set for a strong
decade ahead, with little to worry about in
terms of a skilled trades shortage. n
Rob Starkell is a Brandon-based entrepreneur
and HR professional with a wealth of multinational,
Fortune 500 experiences. Starkell
HUMAN RESOURCES
graduated University of Manitoba with a
bachelor of commerce (hons) degree and
started his professional career in Europe with
Kraft Foods International. Starkell’s career
focused on project management and business
process improvements, and took him throughout
Europe, Asia, and Australia before
re-settling in Brandon, working with Pfizer as
business technology and continuous improvement
lead. At Pfizer, Starkell was trained in
Lean Six Sigma and led process improvement
and change management projects across their
manufacturing sites globally. Starkell became
co-owner in West-Can HR Solutions in 2017.
References
1 https://www.buildforce.ca/en/lmi/
forecast-summary-reports?year=2021.
2 “Construction Industry Fears a Skilledtrades
shortage”, The Globe and Mail,
Feb. 23, 2021.
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