A labour shortage is looming in the next few years, according to Nova Scotia’s Construction Sector Council (CSC), which could end up prompting specialized campaigns designed to recruit younger people, and the unemployed, into skilled trades in communities like Halifax.
The CSC estimates that the province’s labour force may decline by 400 workers over the next nine years if it continues at the current rate. Add a retiring population into the mix and billion dollar federal projects, and the CSC estimates 6,000 new skilled workers will be needed to retain current levels of employment.
Many in the area blame the problems on the province’s inability to get younger people into the right vocations and produce graduates equipped to work in the needed areas. In a Halifax forum, Human Resources Minister, Diane Finely, proposed retraining some of the 42,000 unemployed workers to fill projected future vacancies.
Part of the strategy to fill the employment shortage is set to involve the dissemination of information about skilled labour opportunities and publicity. Poster printing encouraging younger people making a career choice to pursue a trade can be helpful and effective to inspire ambition and strong skills. Career pamphlets and brochure printing of the labour forecast, salaries and employment prospects of different types of skilled labour can also be distributed to high schools or made available in employment centres province wide.
One thing is for sure, without action there will be no one to complete some of province’s construction projects in the near future. This could threaten the Halifax capital’s economy and the entire Atlantic region.
