Photo credit: the Globe and Mail
As the federal government looks to make “generational investments in structure,” it also wants to ensure Canada has enough workers to build it.
Toronto Today reports that in its spring economic update tabled Tuesday, Mark Carney’s Liberal government acknowledged that the country is expected to “face a persistent gap of more than 20,000 skilled trade workers per year.” By 2033, the government said, Canada will need more than 1.4 million additional trades workers, with the planned scale of investments in housing and infrastructure adding to that demand.
The government proposed a number of measures that will help in the recruitment, training and hiring of 80,000 to 100,000 new skilled trade workers by 2030-2031. Among the initiatives is a $5,000 bonus when a worker completes their Red Seal Certification, a process Ottawa also wants to modernize by introducing online exams, digital logbooks and creating a single national registered apprenticeship number.
Officials said that in 2024, despite more than 100,000 new apprentices registered, only about 34,000 completed the program.
The government is proposing to spend $2 billion over five years to increase the number of young people choosing skilled trades. That funding will go towards a “Team Canada Strong Program,” which will provide youth aged 15 to 30 with paid, entry-level trades work that could lead to an apprenticeship.
A new Build Canada Apprenticeship Service will provide wage subsidies of up to $10,000 per worker to help small and medium businesses support the cost of hiring and training.
About $3.4 billion over five years has been earmarked “to address the challenges that can stop apprentices from completing their training and moving in to permanent jobs.
This includes a new grant that will provide an income top-up of $400 per week for apprentices while they are attending mandatory in-class technical training, up to $16,000, in addition to the Red Seal certification bonus.
Another $331 million will be spent over five years to modernize apprenticeship training and to expand union-led training programs.
In total, Ottawa is proposing to spend over $6 billion over five years to deliver its “Team Canada Strong” plan. An additional $250 million over five years will help expand the skilled trades and workforce within the Canadian Armed Forces.
