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Next generation ready to join the workforce

A few weeks ago, we looked at the pending skilled labour shortfall in the construction industry. The Construction Looking Forward report projected the need for 3,900 new entrants into the residential construction industry in a wide variety of positions.

Manitoba is a Canadian leader in immigration from other countries. We have been fortunate to be able to attract some extremely talented people with skill sets critical to the residential construction industry. However, even though Manitoba is the easiest place in the world to feel at home while away from home, this cannot be counted upon to be the sole solution to our anticipated skilled labour shortfall.

There is an outstanding talent pool right here, right now, that hasn't been fully tapped. There are potentially thousands of young people who are unsure what they want to do with their lives.

They may be preparing for high school, college, university or the job market and are considering their options.

A career in residential construction should be considered as one of those options. However, a better job needs to be done to inform and prepare young people for this career choice.

Our high schools can be a tremendous training ground for immediate careers. Tec Voc, R.B. Russell, Kildonan East, Sturgeon Heights and many other high schools outside of Winnipeg have extremely good technical and vocational programs that help prepare our young people for careers.

However, industry and government need to do more to assist these students.

We need to introduce essential skills training; we need to assist with curriculum development to ensure relevancy; we need to help with the provision of equipment and supplies; we need to assist in the classroom where possible; we need to provide learning opportunities in the field; we need to market our product better; we need to assist in career counseling by promoting our wide array of career opportunities; we need to do a better job of informing parents about careers in construction.

Our colleges have really stepped up in recent years. Long known as outstanding preparatory institutions for guaranteed careers, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, Red River College and Assiniboine Community College are training and educating tomorrow's worker today. These are the perfect locations for high school graduates to hone their skills for the workforce and make them ideal candidates for the workforce.

So, how are we going to find the workers that are needed for the construction industry for the next 10 years? Most of them are already living in Manitoba. We just have to identify, recruit and provide proper training for them.

Our young people are our most valuable commodity. Let's maximize our input to get the best results.

Anything less would be a disservice.

 

Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders'Association.

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