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
We recognize that a major barrier for BC’s construction association is attracting and retaining
a skilled workforce. Attracting potential workers, elevating the status associated with skilled
trades at the high school level and getting workers the training they need to enter the industry is a priority for the BC conservatives.
To address short term labour needs we are committed to working with industry to develop more training opportunities. We will also look into replicating what has been done in other jurisdictions such as allowing unions to provide skills training to workers and removing barriers to the apprenticeship process.
In the long term, we will work with industry on a long-term strategy to attract workers into the
skilled trades, create a safe workplace standard and incentivize more skills training.
– Conservative Party of British Columbia
The BC Greens are committed to creating sustainable career opportunities and workforce development across sectors. We aim to address staffing shortages by attracting and retaining skilled workers where they are urgently needed.
By increasing the supply of affordable housing we can alleviate pressure across the housing system. More affordable housing options would allow workers to live close to where they work, strengthening our economy and creating a more stable labor force for communities throughout British Columbia.
To improve productivity and workforce sustainability, we would explore flexible work arrangements, namely, we would provide support for programs piloting a four-day work week, partnering with interested businesses to collect and track data on productivity, employee well-being, and employer satisfaction.
– 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
To address the skilled labour shortage, the Conservative Party will:
- Invest in more trades training spaces: Wait lists are often an impediment for people to complete their Red Seal designation. Encourage more institutions like Pacific Vocational College, which has produced 20,000+ plumbers and gasfitters
- Update curriculum faster: It should not take 4 years to change trades training courses
- Enhance online delivery so that people can be trained remotely, in the evenings and on weekends
– Conservative Party of British Columbia
We are interested in collaborating with the Construction Association to promote trades as a career option for young people, women, Indigenous, and racialized communities, including the option of a youth climate corps initiative focused on environmentally-friendly retrofits.
We would ensure training programs have affordable tuition, while also investing $20 million annually for education and training programs to address the skills shortage in the renewable energy sector and to retrain oil and gas workers.
We would invest in a BC Clean Energy Institute in Northwest BC to drive innovation and training.
– Green Party of British Columbia