Halifax is seeing a significant increase of major construction projects, but it hasn’t been easy for tradespeople in rural communities, particularly due to the struggling economies in Western Canada.
“Even though it might be happening in Alberta, it’s impacting communities in Nova Scotia,” said Brad Smith, executive director of Mainland Nova Scotia Building Trades.
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The group is made up of about 11,000 tradespeople in the province.
Smith said that a significant number of those people live in rural Nova Scotia but work out west, where oil prices have plunged and the number of work opportunities subsequently declined.
As for the rest of the province, he said employment levels for tradespeople “is steady and continues to be steady, kind of Nova Scotia’s way. So not high growth but low to moderate, and probably more towards the slow.”
Mary Keith, communications vice president of J.D. Irving, said the company is forecasting it will need 1,400 jobs to be filled in Nova Scotia over the next few years.
About 550 people were recalled or hired last year in Halifax to help with ship building.
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