Jobs follow building permits applications as surely as occupancy follows completion. So with Vancouver building-permit applications returning to pre-recession levels, construction employers are scrambling to get needed talent.
According to Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, about 120,000 of the 195,000 construction industry workers in B.C are in Metro Vancouver.
He said the number of employees is scarcely enough to handle current workloads and will be woefully inadequate when 206,000 workers are needed in 2020. Sashaw pointed out that an estimated 33,000 construction workers will retire across B.C. by 2020 and only 24,000 new construction workers are expected to enter the industry by that date.
Increased demand in the sector will create an additional 11,000 jobs. So Sashaw said the sector will have a 20,000-worker shortfall.
The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) has been trying to fill job vacancies by going to Ireland and Scotland. The first trip was in February and March, when members of the BCCA, the provincial government’s provincial nominee program, British Columbia Institute of Technology and others went to a job fair that was attended by 20,000 job seekers.
“Many of the attendees couldn’t get into the building,” BCCA CEO Manley McLachlan told Business in Vancouver. “So we just instructed people to go to our website and enter their contact info and post their CV.”
BCCA staff then weeded through the resumés, ensured applicants had filled in whatever credentials they had and then showed the CVs to potential employers.
“Employers are going to the job fairs but we have also set aside a day to do interviews with preselected individuals who have had some contact with the employers but never met them,” McLachlan said. “This will be their opportunity to meet face to face and get job offers.”
Employers’ job search has had to go international because, McLachlan said, middle managers are sought and there are few such people in B.C.
“Every apprentice needs a journeyperson,” he explained. “We want the 35-year-old who can replace the 65-year-old guy who’s retiring. Then the company can continue to hire entry-level people because there is someone at the company who can train them.”
