Mike Bloos with Legacee Builders is looking to hire skilled trade workers in the building industry, but that search has not been an easy one.
“I am looking for young apprentices. It’s been rather difficult to find young people that are trying to get into these trades. We are finding that the skills market is down,” Bloos said.
Statistics Canada said there are more vacancies in skilled trade jobs than there are people to fill them, especially in key industries like construction, manufacturing and transportation.
The Regina Trades and Skills Centre and Saskatchewan Polytechnic are places employers go looking for skilled hands.
“So, I found out that the trade centre offers a good program that allows us to look at what the kids are doing,” Bloos said.
“It gives the employers a bit of knowledge on what these kids bring when they come to an interview. When we see Regina trades and skills in their resume, we know they have some basic skills and they come with the safety training.”
Saskatchewan Polytechnic associate dean Dan Duperreault said with the demand on the economy in Saskatchewan, every trade is in high demand.
“We are hearing from industry that they need workers consistently to meet their demands,” Duperreault said.
Right now, there seems to be a shortage of those workers, although Duperreault said enrolment at Saskatchewan Polytechnic is good.
“We have seen some interest from the public, and our enrolment numbers show that our programs are full. We continue to work diligently to meet the industry demand. We try to graduate as many students as possible,” Duperreault said.
From building construction to painting, Regina Trades and Skills Centre executive director Brian Shankowsky said courses at the centre are determined by the industry demand.
“We keep a really close relationship with employers in Regina to find areas where they need help and what kind of courses we can train students on that will quickly help them out and also get our students into the workforce so they can start working and earning a living,” Shankowsky said.
Shankowsky said trade skills give an individual the opportunity to transition to something they can see as a career rather than just a job.
“These trainings are short; in 13 weeks a student has learnt a trade they can use for a lifetime. I believe we need this, trade skills, because it’s an opportunity for people to get some quick training and become productive members of our society,” Shankowsky said.
One student from Ukraine, Mykhailo Necheporenko, said he is interested in painting.
“Canada is in need of painters because there are always renovations and repairs going on so I would like to contribute to the economy of this country and earn a living,” Necheporenko said.
A student from India, Prem Kumar, said he loves painting from back home and when he heard of this training he was determined to come and learn more.
Kumar says this skill “will be with me the rest of my life,” and that with the skills he is learning he can earn a living while contributing to the economy.
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