The federal government estimates Canada will need 1.4 million new trades workers by 2033 to replace retiring workers and meet project demand.
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Apprenticeship enrolments hit a record high of more than 101,500 in 2024, according to Statistics Canada, but completions of these programs have remained below prepandemic levels. Almost 47,000 apprentices received certification that year, or a rate of 19.9 per cent. In comparison, a decade prior, 93,500 Canadians enrolled in a skilled trade and 59,400 received their certifications.
The issue I’ve seen most often is the employer hires an apprentice then drags feet for as many years as possible to keep paying at an unlicensed wage. Often to the point of that apprentice quitting and the employer starts over again.
This happened to a young man I knew who was trying to get into HVAC. He had to start all over again and find someone new who would actually sign his hours. He eventually did, but I could just add easily imagine if it didn’t happen.
I feel like there is a generally fraying at the edges, or being stretched thin, that everyone alive is experiencing in addition to all the factors others have listed.
One trade-specific thing I have heard is that fellow workers on a crew can also put pressure on apprentices not to go back to school and ‘leave them shorthanded’. Knock on effects from shitty employers.
I don’t know if it would be viable, or if it already exists, but I would like it to have several routes to journeyman status whether those are more education oriented or more work oriented. I would be more inclined to go if it was setup more like a university degree co-op program - 5 years with an established work-term schedule and with program assistance for placements.
Because it’s a tough as hell job that not everybody can do, or has the intelligence to do well. Plus, there are shitty employers just using apprentices as cheap labour.
I believe there is an impact based on some of those excellent DIY YouTube videos. People are a bit scared to spend money these days due to global instability. Some of those YouTube DIY videos solve a lot of issues for a lot of people who can’t afford to shell out the big bucks for tradespersons. In the bigger construction industry you have t be someone’s blood relative (/s).
That would be the opposite of what is going on. There is too much work for the trades to handle, and it’s getting worse.
