Job vacancies in construction prompt CCA concerns

CALGARY, ALTA. — As residential and commercial builders struggle to find workers concern for the industry in Calgary grows.

“This is a problem that not only affects Calgary and Alberta but Canada as a whole,” Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association (CCA), said in a news release.

Estimates by the CCA put construction vacancies between 3,000 and 4,000 in the Calgary region with national estimates reaching 93,000.

The CCA “believes that this is a societal problem that requires action from all levels of government, the educational sector, in addition to the industry itself,” reads the release.

The CCA writes revising accreditation recognition for newcomers to Canada, reversing trends in schooling that have reduced student exposure to the trades and greater funding for post-secondary organizations like the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology are possible solutions to the problem.

A lack of workers negatively impacts completion schedules for new homes and infrastructure projects thereby driving up costs for builders, consumers and owners, states the release.