The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) released the results of a construction skilled trades survey conducted in the Greater Toronto Area during a keynote presentation at the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
“Skilled trades plays such an important role in our economy,” said David Piccini, parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
The survey, conducted by Job Talks, provided some positive insight into how current workers feel about the industry. More than two-thirds of those surveyed stated that they were comfortable in the role they are currently in. The feedback provided suggested that better job opportunities, company advancement, and becoming entrepreneurs are the positive reasons why those same employees move on from those positions, although employer problems and stress on the body were cited as reasons to leave those same jobs.
The survey also presented a number of key stats regarding how workers got into the skilled trades, and what their views of the industry are:
- Just eight per cent were influenced to join the skilled trades by a school counsellor, versus 73 per cent influenced by friends and family;
- 65 per cent would strongly recommend their job to a young person;
- 69 per cent believe that there is a shortage of workers in the field;
- 96 per cent attributed shortages in the field to negative stigmas or parental influence; and
- 70 per cent believe that people lack knowledge about the benefits of working in the trades.
The survey provided four key recommendations:
- Leverage the industry’s network for recruitment;
- Integrate construction early in the education system;
- Invest in high quality media production to promote the industry; and
- Mobilize companies and associations to address retention.
For more information on the results of the survey, visit rescon.com.
