Ontario, Canada’s construction and maintenance segment is positioned to resume its growth path in 2021 through 2026, following minor employment weakening in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to BuildForce Canada’s recent Ontario labor market forecast, the industry will need to hire, train, and retain over 116,000 more employees to align with the estimated rise in infrastructure demand and retirements before 2030.
The report indicates that numerous key developments in infrastructure, transportation, and utilities are projected to mount in 2021 and 2022, especially in the Greater Toronto Area along with Eastern and Southwestern areas.
The vast pipeline of major Ontario projects combined with firm construction activity levels and rebuilding tasks is expected to grow construction work by 9pc or 35,180 jobs by 2026. Total construction work is anticipated to rise 6pc to account for 23,540 jobs from 2020-2030.
Infrastructure projects requiring skilled construction work will need further resources to sustain capacity and meet increasing demands. New tradespersons’ registration in Ontario has been increasing since 2016, rising 27pc in 2019.
Looking at expected new apprentice registrations and completion trends, several of Ontario’s largest construction sectors could face the risk of undersupplying the amount of added resources that will be required by 2030. Ontario’s construction industry may also utilize new employment practices over the next 10 years to meet anticipated market requirements.