From soaring real estate prices to urban highways gorged with vehicles, it’s clear that Canada is outgrowing its infrastructure faster than we can update it. Forty-one million people now call Canada home, and the population is increasing at its fastest rate in 65 years. 

For anyone planning their next chapter, whether that’s a high school student choosing a post-grad path or a person looking for a new career, the need for infrastructure presents an opportunity to land a well-paying job and play a role in building the country for the next generation. 

In demand

In an effort to stabilize the housing market and curb homelessness, the federal government announced a plan this past spring to build 3.87 million homes by 2031, requiring the annual construction of more than double the number of new homes currently being built each year. It also plans to build new highways, hospitals and transit systems. To achieve this bold goal, Canada desperately needs a new wave of workers into the skilled trades: people with certified, hands-on skills like carpentry, welding, plumbing or any of the other of the 300 professions the federal government has designated as a skilled trade. 

It’s not just the push to build infrastructure that’s creating jobs: many workers are also aging out of the profession. Approximately 20 per cent of construction workers plan to retire over the next 10 years and that could translate to a shortage of 60,000 workers by 2032, according to BuildForce Canada, a market research firm that serves the construction industry. Meanwhile, job vacancies for certified tradespeople almost doubled between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2023.

To Shaun Thorson, CEO of Skills/Compétences Canada, a non-profit that promotes careers in the trades and technologies, those numbers are alarming and indicate a fundamental misunderstanding of the salaries and stability that a career in the trades can offer. Many jobs pay well: according to current figures available from Statistics Canada, a construction manager gets an average yearly salary of just under $90,000, a power systems electrician makes $95,100 and a mining supervisor earns more than $120,000. And not all jobs involve hammers and heavy machinery: learning a manual skill opens doors for jobs in green building configuration, electric vehicle parts development and copper mining for AI-powered microchips. 

Training opportunities

Governments are responding to the demand for skilled labour with a full-on push to get young people to choose a trade, including initiatives such as building new training centres, creating free or low-cost programs and funding student apprenticeships. The latest federal budget earmarked $90 million over the next two years to pay the salaries of student apprentices with small and medium-sized companies—normally paid for by the company—to encourage more firms to take on the training of new workers. It also plans to funnel just over $200 million in 2025 and 2026 towards summer jobs for those aged 15 to 30, with a focus on jobs in trade sectors that are facing labour shortages.

Meanwhile, the Ontario government is investing $100 million this year on a number of projects including the creation of 100 pre-apprenticeship training programs, where students will gain exposure to a trade in a free course that can last up to 52 weeks and includes a paid work placement for eight to twelve weeks. It’s also expanding its high school trades apprenticeship program, enabling more Grade 11 and 12 students to take co-op courses in the trades, and is financially supporting Indigenous skilled workers in northern Ontario. The Government of Nova Scotia is putting $100 million towards speeding up the recruitment and training of skilled tradespeople, including giving $40 million in various grants for students, apprentices, workers and employers, and waiving tuition at Nova Scotia Community College for high-demand workers such as carpenters and plumbers. In the North, the Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corporation has partnered with construction firm NCC Development to fund and launch a training program aimed at creating apprenticeships in construction for 90 Inuit, starting this year.

Future outlook

Renewed attention on the trades is helping to revive them: more than 80,000 Canadians registered for an apprenticeship program in 2022, the highest number since 2014, with the bulk of registrants coming from Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. But the rise in registrations hasn’t yet translated into a much-needed surge of certified tradespeople. Many apprentices have yet to complete their training, and the drop-out rate is high, partly due to the difficulty (there’s a lot more math and memorizing than people expect). Consequently, recruitment and support for skilled workers must remain strong. “Tradespeople are problem solvers, and problem solvers are always needed,” says Thorson. “Regardless of future economic trends or situations, there will be work anywhere in the world for them.”

Becoming a Tradesperson

What is a skilled trade?

A skilled trade is a job that requires a specific ability or set of skills, typically with a hands-on component. There are more than 300 skilled trades in Canada, some of the most common ones being construction, electrical and mechanical. Services like cooking, barbering and landscaping are also considered skilled trades. The majority of industries require skilled tradespeople to operate. 

Learning a skilled trade  

While some construction work can be done without a credential, certification is compulsory for many careers in the trades, such as electrical, plumbing and welding, and new workers require an apprenticeship and certification from the relevant provincial body. In Ontario, for example, apprentices must pass the Certification of Qualification exam for their trade. A number of trade jobs, including electrician, hair stylist and machinist, also have a Red Seal trade designation. This is a voluntary piece of extra certification meant to prove that a tradesperson has met the national standard in their field and indicates a worker has a high level of competence. It usually comes with added perks, like higher pay.

Before getting certified, students typically attend a college or technical institute, like the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Ontario’s Humber College. Programs can take up to four years to complete and combine learning in an academic setting with apprenticeships, where students work under the direction of experienced workers in their desired field. It is also common for people who are already working in the trades to enroll in a program part-time to build upon pre-existing skills and to learn from others in the field. Some institutions also offer pre-apprenticeship programs: free, trades-specific training for eight to 15 weeks funded by provincial ministries, which are helpful in helping people decide whether or not a particular trade is right for them. 

Choosing a trade

Many trades are highly physical: being a roofer, painter, landscaper or bricklayer requires a healthy body, a willingness to work outside and an ability to withstand long hours of labour. Other trades, like heavy-equipment operator or baker, may appeal to those in search of a job in a more stable environment. 

Potential students, before choosing a career path, should also consider how they feel about seasonal work. While people need electricians, car mechanics and plumbers year-round, other jobs, like road worker, tend to be busier in the warm months than in the cold ones. 

Once a person becomes a skilled trade worker, they can decide whether they want to be a contractor and be paid per project, or be employed inside of an organization and earn a salary (as an independent electrician versus one employed by
a hospital or city, e.g.).

Skill retention

Updating one’s skills is becoming a crucial part of a successful career in the trades as technology rapidly improves and occupations evolve. Constructing, operating and maintaining climate-
friendly buildings and electric vehicles, for example, requires new knowledge and skills. To support upskilling, the federal government has a number of resources, including details on financial assistance for training, education savings benefits, skills assessment tools and information on development programs on this webpage.

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