June 20, 2006

Labour

Ontario’s mobile workforce

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

TORONTO

Ontario is in good shape to meet the demands of a growing construction industry, despite its shrinking workforce, according to a new forecast released today by the Construction Sector Council (CSC).

Construction Looking Forward — Labour Requirements from 2006 to 2014 for Ontario, says a mobile workforce that shifts to different regions of the province will be key to meeting industry demand over the next nine years.

The forecast says that investment will increase by an average of two per cent per year, and that an estimated 48,000 workers will be needed to replace retirees. More than 22,000 additional workers will be required to meet new construction demand.

“We’re supportive of the council’s work,” said David Frame, president of the Council of Ontario Construction Associations. “But we are surprised at some of the (reported) findings. We will be looking into this in much more detail when the report is released.”

The CSC has been working with all disciplines of the industry over the past year to develop Construction Looking Forward reports for each province. They are being released across the country this month.

Clive Thurston, president of the Ontario General Contractors Association, said his organization is also studying the report.

“We’re very interested in the ramifications for the future.”

Regionally, the report got a thumbs up from Ron Martin, executive director of the Sudbury Construction Association.

Martin said the regional perspective gives industry leaders “the foresight needed to keep the construction industry on a viable track.

“The forecast looks at factors that affect labour requirements — such as investment and retirement rates — for Ontario, and separately for each of its five regions,” Martin said.

“The pace of activity is manageable because as the workforce shifts from region to region, labour markets balance. But we are keeping an eye on demands from the West as that could disturb that balance.”

Labour spokesman Patrick Dillon, business manager of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council, said “the data on what skills will be needed and where is particularly useful for the development of training programs, which will be very much in demand.

“We have the training capacity to meet future needs.”

Ron McGillis, manager of safety, compliance & contractor quality at Ontario Power Generation, said when labour is tight, safety and quality concerns are top of mind.

“The type of detailed information in this forecast, such as when and where shortages can occur, gives us the ‘heads up’ we need.”

The Construction Sector Council was established in 2001, as an independent labour/business partnership to address the workforce needs of the construction industry.

The CSC is a neutral forum that brings together stakeholders to provide data that industry can use to make critical planning decisions. CSC provides this data to industry who undertake their own analysis. Construction Looking Forward reports are produced annually by the CSC for all provinces. They are available electronically at www.csc-ca.org.

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