Skilled Labour Shortage

In the next decade British Columbia is expecting more than 85,000 skilled-trades jobs, that’s why now more than ever British Columbia needs a government they can trust to continue to take action to strengthen skilled trades across the province.

Since 2017, British Columbia has seen a record number of people registered as apprentices, closing a crucial skills gap, and benefiting the economy. The results are clear, just last year 15,075 people in British Columbia registered for apprenticeships, a 20% increase over 2022. By investing in apprenticeships today, the BC NDP government is taking action to ensure a strong workforce is trained and ready to build the homes and infrastructure that British Columbians depend on.

No more disasters like bringing in temporary foreign workers on projects like the Canada Line and getting successfully sued for their mistreatment, as happened on John and Kevin’s watch under the BC Liberal government – we’re using public projects to train the next generation of workers here while investing in trades facilities and equipment to support that training.

– British Columbia New Democratic Party

Coming Soon

– Conservative Party of British Columbia

Coming Soon

– Green Party of British Columbia

One of the biggest challenges facing the construction sector today is finding skilled workers, and we know that supporting a robust workforce is vital to our Province’s future economic growth. While it is too early to be announcing platform pieces, we will continue to build on our actions that help employers find and train the workers that drive our economy forward, using the success of programs like the BC Employer Training Grant, Workplace Innovation Fund, and Community Workforce Response Grant as our template.

As part of our commitment to the construction sector, we will continue to work closely with the industry to explore more innovative solutions to address workforce challenges, including bringing more people into the sector.

Our government will continue to partner with colleges and other levels of government to ensure 21st century training facilities and tools to support future skilled workers. For instance, we are building a new trades training building at BCIT that will benefit 12,000 students per year and rebuild apprentice supports.

As part of the previous government, John Rustad and Kevin Falcon gutted supports for apprentices – firing all 40 apprentice advisors in B.C. and replacing them with 3 people in a call centre to serve all 15,000 apprentices. It came as no surprise annual completions for people entering the trades plummeted by a third shortly after. They cut supports before, and if they have the chance, they will do it again. The construction industry can’t risk more cuts from John Rustad and Kevin Falcon, and British Columbia can’t afford further skilled labour shortages.

– British Columbia New Democratic Party

Coming Soon

– Conservative Party of British Columbia

Coming Soon

– Green Party of British Columbia