The B.C. government91裸聊视频檚 agenda for 2019 touts its strategies for generating more construction, sawmill and natural gas industry jobs, but employers are wondering where the skilled workers are going to come from.

After this week91裸聊视频檚 throne speech to start the legislature session, Premier John Horgan acknowledged that a skills shortage is the most common issue he hears about in meetings with employers. The speech repeats the NDP government91裸聊视频檚 commitment to more skills training, the details of which will be seen in Finance Minister Carole James91裸聊视频� next budget on Feb. 19.

Business not happy with . Premier says skilled worker shortage is biggest issue

91裸聊视频� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)

91裸聊视频淭alking to employers, I hear over and over again, the biggest challenge they have is recruiting and retaining skilled workers, or recruiting and retaining any workers that they can provide training for,91裸聊视频� Horgan said.

Housing and other construction have been booming in urban B.C., and more growth is expected this year, according to the Independent Contractors and Business Association91裸聊视频檚 2019 , released Wednesday in Vancouver.

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ICBA president Chris Gardner says more than half of companies surveyed expect to grow by 24 per cent on average this year. But in skilled trades such as carpenters, sheet metal workers, sprinkler fitters and concrete finishers, nearly 80 per cent of companies say they can91裸聊视频檛 hire enough people.

BC skilled trades shortage most acute on Vancouver Island, according to survey

91裸聊视频� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)

91裸聊视频淪kills shortages have eased a little, particularly in the North, but with nearly 60 per cent of companies saying they are turning down work, the pressure remains acute,91裸聊视频� Gardner said.

The survey included 1,000 companies in November 2018. It finds that wage growth is accelerating, with four per cent annual increases expected to reach 5.3 per cent in 2020, and average wages above $30 an hour.

Finance Min is asked about claim companies are shut out of public construction. They can join the right unions

91裸聊视频� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)

The ICBA is taking court action against the NDP government91裸聊视频檚 new 91裸聊视频渃ommunity benefits agreement91裸聊视频� for public construction, which restricts highway and bridge work to 19 selected trade unions, mostly headquartered in the U.S. Gardner said 85 per cent of companies in B.C. are shut out of taxpayer-funded work.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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