Today is a critical moment to act on the future of the labour force in construction, says an industry group that has launched a survey to measure trades workers’ job satisfaction.
“We’ve seen labour shortages on and off in different sub-trades for more than a decade,” said Andrew Pariser, chair of the Ontario Residential Council of Construction Associations (ORCCA) and vice-president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). “We must prepare for how this will affect all construction sectors including infrastructure and residential and how it will impact our ability to build in the future.”
The big concern is that almost 90,000 Ontario construction workers are set to retire in the next 10 years. That figure comes from a report by BuildForce Canada, a national industry-led organization that provides labour market information and statistics on the Canadian construction workforce.
That’s why ORCCA and RESCON launched a survey to learn what satisfies trades professionals day-to-day (not supervisors or construction management) as they build the province from the ground up.
“Our goal is to better understand how we can retain current workers, recruit new workers, and build a labour force to match tomorrow’s needs. If we recruit the right people and provide them with the right opportunities, we can greatly improve all training and apprenticeship initiatives.”
RESCON has received broad industry support from the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario; the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association; the Ontario Skilled Trade Alliance; the Heavy Construction Association of Toronto; the Toronto and Area Road Builders Association; and the Ontario Construction Career Alliance. They’re helping promote the survey to their members.
The academically based survey is being carried out by Job Talks, an organization with a strong track record in academia and in construction. Recent Job Talks projects include a national survey of workers in Red Seal trades and a complementary interview series on YouTube, as well as a national study that reveals new distinct segments of Canada’s working population.
“The survey takes at least 20 minutes and is open to any person who works on tools or owns a pair of safety boots in infrastructure and residential trades in Ontario,” said Jon Callegher, Job Talks. It has multiple choice and open-ended questions that “help us understand how construction workers really feel about their jobs and to gauge their happiness on the job.”
The results of the survey will inform a report on retention and job satisfaction of trades workers in construction.
Everyone who fills out the survey will receive a $10 Tim Hortons e-card and be eligible for one of six $500 prizes.
The survey is available at this link: http://f.canview.com/6036/
For more information, email [email protected].
