Slow-changing institutions and unaffordable housing are worsening B.C.B次元官网网址檚 shortage of qualified construction workers, according to the Victoria Residential Builders Association (VRBA).
The trades industry has long grappled with worker shortages, according to Casey Edge, executive director at the VRBA, but a number of problems, a big one being high housing prices, are pushing tradespeople to move where prices are cheaper.
The number of B.C. residents moving to Alberta was the highest it has been since 2001, spiking to 28,238 in 2021/22, according to Statistics Canada data from September 2022. Atlantic Canada was another popular destination B次元官网网址� out-of-province migration to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is at its highest point since records began in 1971/72. Migration from B.C. to Quebec was also at its highest since 1973/74 and Saskatchewan was at its highest in a decade.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a circular problem.
Since B.C. has labour shortages, the province wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to build enough housing to meet its housing needs and that gap fuels labour shortages. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimates that by 2030, 993,450 new housing starts are needed to reach housing affordability, which is defined as 44 per cent of monthly income in B.C. B次元官网网址� in most provinces itB次元官网网址檚 30 per cent. But current projections show the best-case scenario is 598,459, with CMHC predicting closer to 423,450 starts in that period, less than half of whatB次元官网网址檚 needed.
CMHC also calculated the number of workers per unit under construction in B.C. was at an all-time low of 3.3 workers per unit in 2021, compared with an average of 6.1 from 1996 to 2021. Ontario and Quebec also saw all-time lows in 2021 compared with the same period, but Alberta was only slightly below its average of 8.6 workers per unit at 8.4.
READ MORE: The demise of single-family starter homes: What it takes to buy in Greater Victoria
Progress on solutions is hard to come by.
Edge said the provinceB次元官网网址檚 Housing Supply Act is B次元官网网址渁bsolutely necessary,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a new law allowing the province to set housing targets for municipalities including Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay B次元官网网址� and should go some way to addressing municipal cultures that slow down development.
B次元官网网址淲hen you build a home a certain way in, letB次元官网网址檚 say, Colwood or wherever, and then you try to build that same home in Saanich, you get different interpretations of the building code, you have two different things. Why is that? Because you have a different municipal culture, and they interpret the building code differently. That all adds to costs, delays, costs, expense.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he B.C. government could be dealing with one council and one official community plan with regional planning for housing, transportation infrastructure,B次元官网网址� Edge said. B次元官网网址淚nstead, theyB次元官网网址檝e got to deal with 13 different official community plans.B次元官网网址�
Culture change is also needed in education, according to Edge, where longstanding biases against trades linger.
B次元官网网址淭he biggest hurdle with respect to itB次元官网网址檚 not so much the funding and all the rest of it, itB次元官网网址檚 actually being able to ensure that in the education system, young people have the opportunity to understand what itB次元官网网址檚 like to be in the trades and the opportunities there.B次元官网网址�
Edge says often youth arenB次元官网网址檛 given information about the opportunity for advancement in the trades. He said VRBA has advocated for universities and colleges to allow students to take trades courses as electives when they are studying other subjects, in theory allowing a humanities student to also work towards becoming a trained carpenter. But thereB次元官网网址檚 been little movement towards that, he said.
B次元官网网址淭he post-secondary school system operates in silos,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淓verybody IB次元官网网址檝e talked to actually thinks itB次元官网网址檚 a good idea. But when youB次元官网网址檙e dealing with institutions, theyB次元官网网址檙e operated by administrative cultures and not inclined to change.B次元官网网址�
In an email, the B.C. Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills said school institutions come up with their own curriculum, but the province does provide various funding programs to encourage people into the trades, including a new grant (announced in May) of up to $3,500 per person for eligible short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions.
B次元官网网址淐ohort-based programs, particularly those leading to occupations that are certified/regulated, donB次元官网网址檛 usually lend themselves to people taking a single course, as curriculum is designed across courses to build studentsB次元官网网址� knowledge towards a credential.B次元官网网址�
Some students can enrol in micro-credentials and other professional training programs at the University of Victoria. None are specific to the trades, but a school spokerson said B次元官网网址渨e continue to explore new partnership opportunities with businesses and organizations to offer career-specific micro-credentials and professional programs that may be of interest to a variety of industries.
CHALLENGES FOR WORKERS:
READ MORE: SD62 program gets students in the door for trades
