Demand for key trades apprentices to climb to 167,000 over next five years: report
July 3, 2019 | By Jillian Morgan
Some 67,000 journeypersons will be required over the next five years to keep workforce certification levels afloat for key trades in the majority of Canadian provinces.
To meet that demand, Canada’s 10 largest Red Seal trades — excluding Quebec and the territories — will need to attract 167,793 apprentices, according to the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum’s 2019 labour report.
From 2019 to 2023, more than 4,000 journeyperson plumbers and 2,718 journeyperson steamfitters will need to be recruited. The organization determined the industry will therefore need to attract 9,602 plumber apprentices and 4,872 steamfitter apprentices.
Though employment growth for the skilled trades is poised to slow, decreasing demand for construction electricians and plumbers, new recruits will be needed to offset an aging workforce and accelerating retirement rates, CAF-FCA found.
The organized pointed to a decline in new apprentices since 2014, fewer youth entering the trades and the potential erosion of training capacity as other key challenges in the years ahead.
CAF-FCA expects 164,100 apprentices to register in the top 10 Red Seal trades over the next five years. That figure is down nine per cent compared to the previous five years.
Across all trades, the demand for skilled workers is strongest in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. www.caf-fca.org
