While 2024 has come to a close, a number of different organizations remain focused on delivering programs designed to attract young people into construction and related fields as part of an overall goal to address the skilled trades shortage.
The shortage is particularly acute in the electrical sector where market research shows approximately 28,000 new employees will be required by 2028, equivalent to 25 per cent of the current labour force.
It’s the reason why Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) and Electricity Canada have partnered to deliver Electricity Now!
Designed for Grade 9 and 10 students, Electricity Now! is an educational program with a large set of parallel goals. They include demonstrating the range of career opportunities available in the electricity sector as well as creating awareness of climate change.
The modules and lessons are part of a free online resource package for high school teachers that will be rolled out across Canada in the coming months, says Electricity Canada’s communications and sustainability vice-president Julia Muggeridge.
Authors of the course are David McKendry, senior fellow, Electricity Canada and William Bennett, a retired Hydro Ottawa employee. CGC Educational Communications assisted with the development of the course material.
Science teachers will teach the lessons, but the format of how and when the lessons will be conducted will be determined by the participating school boards. Electricity Canada and its member firms, such as Hydro One, will be conducting outreach initiatives to obtain school board participation, she says.
In some ways the teaching resource is an outgrowth of Electricity Canada’s Electricity Fundamentals in Canada, a post-secondary foundation course for anyone working in the energy sector. A
New Brunswick Ministry of Education official who took that course was so impressed he suggested there should be one tailored to students, says Muggeridge.
Electricity Now! was launched in late November, almost about the same time the Ministry of Labour Immigration, Training and Skills Development was wrapping up another successful year of its Level Up series of skilled trades fairs.
Approximately 40,000 Grade seven to 12 students from 900 schools across Ontario were given a close-up view and hands-on opportunity to learn about skilled trades at the fairs.
There were 15 fairs this past fall session, which marked the third year the program has been in existence.
The concluding and largest fair was at the International Centre in Mississauga from Nov. 26 to 28. There were approximately 12,000 students and just over 60 trade exhibitors, says ministry senior manager and program lead Scott Ravary.
At the fairs, the students had a chance to try their hand at skilled trade tasks such as welding, carpentry or operating equipment.
They also toured Skills Ontario’s Trades & Tech Truck. This is a custom-built mobile skilled trades classroom with heavy equipment simulators, virtual welding, a hairstyling station, a culinary area and other trade stations.
A pivotal component is the parents’ nights. As well as providing an opportunity to see what the students have learned and accomplished, these events can dispel parental misconceptions about skilled trades, says Ravary.
Sponsoring the fairs requires a considerable amount of lead-time planning by the ministry, working in tandem with different contractors and trade associations, a third party vendor and the various school boards, he says.
The ministry covers the cost of bussing the fairs and secures trade exhibitors who don’t charge for their time and services. The third party vendor scouts out and books the different venues, while the school boards provide the students through a registration system.
We have to keep attendance (at the fairs) manageable.”
Key personnel in promoting the fairs are the school boards’ Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program recruiters. The messaging, though, isn’t directed at students who are already in co-op programs or have indicated an interest in a trades career.
“They’re already sold (on a skilled trades career).”
Rather, the focus is on students who are unsure of their career paths. With those students, the message is “why not give skilled trades a try?”
To avoid conflicts with other career events, the fairs are always held in the fall. The scheduling also eliminates the risk of bussing students to the venues on icy roads in the winter, says Ravary.
Planning for the fall 2025 fairs will probably start about April, he says.
An upcoming event that will also put a spotlight on skills trades is the Skills Ontario competition May 5 and 6 at the Toronto Congress Centre. Planning is already underway, says Skills Ontario chief executive officer Ian Howcroft.
Recent Comments