New Report Highlights Growing Demand for Skilled Tradespeople and Apprentices

June 28, 2019

Between now and 2023, 67,000 new journeypersons will be required to sustain workforce certification levels across the 10 largest Red Seal trade, according to a new report prepared for the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum. Furthermore, 167,739 new apprentices will be needed to keep pace with the demand for skills and certification as journeypersons retire.

Authored by Prism Economics and Analysis, Apprentice Demand in the Top Ten Red Seal Trades: A 2019 National Labour Market Information Report draws on apprenticeship trends data and projections from the Canadian System for Tracking Apprenticeship Qualifications (CANTRAQ) to assess demand and supply for trade certification across the top 10 Red Seal trades in Canada. National, provincial and trade-specific assessments of demand and supply projections are also provided.

The first section of the report provides an analysis of national and provincial trends in apprenticeship registrations and completion. The section also provides a summary of the economic and population growth outlook and other factors likely to impact the demand and supply for trade certification and apprenticeship training in Canada.

Although the pace of employment growth in many skilled trades is expected to slow compared to the rapid expansion experienced in the last decade, workforce retirements continue to rise. Keeping pace with the demand for skills and workforce certification will require attracting 167,739 new apprentices over the next five years.

The report notes that an anticipated slowdown in the pace of construction employment will likely lead to less near-term demand for some trades, such as construction electricians and plumbers. However, a decline in new apprentices since 2014, and the potential erosion of training capacity, could lead to long-term shortages in skilled trades. Annual new registrations in the 10 largest Red Seal trades contracted by 20% between 2014 and 2017, or by 7,100 fewer new registrants.

An additional risk is a decline in the number of youth entering the workforce as a share of the population. This is due to aging demographics and a rise in competing demands from other sectors of the economy. Over the next five years, growth in IT and service sector jobs is expected to outpace several sectors that employ large numbers of skilled tradespeople. Health services-related employment in particular is expected to continue to lead job growth in Canada, especially in provinces with older populations.

The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA) is a national, not-for-profit organization working with stakeholders in all regions of Canada. The organization encourages pan-Canadian apprenticeship strategies through research, discussion and collaboration, and shares insights across trades, across sectors and across the country to promote apprenticeship as an effective model for training and education.

Read the full report: https://caf-fca.org/caf_research/apprentice-demand-2019/.

Photo source: The Apprentice Demand in the Top Ten Red Seal Trades: A 2019 National Labour Market Information Report Prepared for the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum