Slow-changing institutions and unaffordable housing are worsening B.C.91裸聊视频檚 shortage of qualified construction workers, according to industry insiders.
The trades industry has long grappled with worker shortages, according to Casey Edge, executive director at the Victoria Residential Builders Association. But a number of problems 91裸聊视频� a big one being high housing prices 91裸聊视频� 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; 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.
It91裸聊视频檚 a circular problem.
Since B.C. has labour shortages, the province won91裸聊视频檛 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. 91裸聊视频� in most provinces it91裸聊视频檚 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 what91裸聊视频檚 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.
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Progress on solutions is hard to come by.
Edge said the province91裸聊视频檚 Housing Supply Act 91裸聊视频� a new law allowing the province to set housing targets for municipalities 91裸聊视频� is 91裸聊视频渁bsolutely necessary,91裸聊视频� and should go some way to addressing municipal cultures that slow down development.
91裸聊视频淲hen you build a home a certain way in, let91裸聊视频檚 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.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淭he B.C. government could be dealing with one council and one official community plan with regional planning for housing, transportation infrastructure,91裸聊视频� Edge said. 91裸聊视频淚nstead (in Greater Victoria), they91裸聊视频檝e got to deal with 13 different official community plans.91裸聊视频�
Culture change is also needed in education, according to Edge, where longstanding biases against trades linger.
91裸聊视频淭he biggest hurdle with respect to it91裸聊视频檚 not so much the funding and all the rest of it, it91裸聊视频檚 actually being able to ensure that in the education system, young people have the opportunity to understand what it91裸聊视频檚 like to be in the trades and the opportunities there.91裸聊视频�
Edge says often youth aren91裸聊视频檛 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 there91裸聊视频檚 been little movement towards that, he said.
91裸聊视频淭he post-secondary school system operates in silos,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淓verybody I91裸聊视频檝e talked to actually thinks it91裸聊视频檚 a good idea. But when you91裸聊视频檙e dealing with institutions, they91裸聊视频檙e operated by administrative cultures and not inclined to change.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淐ohort-based programs, particularly those leading to occupations that are certified/regulated, don91裸聊视频檛 usually lend themselves to people taking a single course, as curriculum is designed across courses to build students91裸聊视频� knowledge towards a credential.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频渨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.
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