Resources for Job Seekers
Employment in British Columbia’s construction industry is expected to grow by nearly 8 per cent – approximately 16,600 jobs – over the coming decade. At the same time, B.C.’s construction workforce is getting older. By 2029, some 44,200 men and women – approximately 22 per cent of construction workers – are expected to retire.
Even with the prospect of recruiting 37,800 new entrants under the age of 30 to the industry during this 10-year period, the industry will be short 23,000 skilled trades workers by 2029.
What does it mean for you? Construction offers significant opportunity and career stability.
To help job seekers explore opportunities within construction, the Vancouver Regional Construction Association has assembled the following list of resources. The resources have been organized around the following topics:
- Explore careers in construction
- Labour market information
- Trades certifications
- Trades training
- Government funding and tax credits
- Find jobs in construction
- Trades training associations
- Additional resources
Explore Careers in Construction
- Careers in Trades
- With more than 300 trades to choose from, finding the right one can be a big challenge! Discover and explore opportunities in the trades using this shared initiative of Canadian Apprenticeship Forum and Skills Canada.
- Trades Training BC
- Trades Training BC is a consortium of 15 B.C. public post-secondary educational institutions created to promote trades training in British Columbia.
- Canadian Construction Women
- Opportunities for support, mentoring, networking, community involvement, learning and development for women in construction
- Construction Job Centre
- Connecting people to opportunities within the construction industry in British Columbia
- WorkBC – Trades Training
- WorkBC – Women in the Trades
Labour Market Information
- Apprentice Demand in the Top Ten Red Seal Trades
- BuildForce Canada Construction and Maintenance 10-year rolling forecast of workforce supply and demand by trade, province and region.
- B.C. Employment & Labour Market forecasts
- B.C. Government Labour Market Resources page
Trades Certifications
- Red Seal Program
- This inter-provincial program for trades certification is designed to provide greater ease of mobility for skilled workers throughout Canada.
- CCA Gold Seal Certification Program
- The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) Gold Seal Certification Program is a comprehensive certification program that showcases expertise and commitment to the construction industry and ensures practitioners are ready to meet the demands of construction projects across the country.
Trades Training (post-secondary)
- British Columbia Institute of Technology
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Simon Fraser University, Sustainable Energy Engineering Program
- University of the Fraser Valley
- Vancouver Community College
Government Funding and Tax Credits
- Canada BC Job Grant
- The Canada-B.C. Job Grant is an employer-driven, cost-sharing program that helps employers invest in training for their current or future employees.
- Training Tax Credit B.C.
- The training tax credit is for employers and apprentices who take part in eligible apprenticeship programs administered through the Industry Training Authority. The training tax credit is effective until the end of 2019. Budget 2020 proposes to extend the training tax credit program to the end of 2022.
- Deduction for tools (tradespersons)
- Tax information provided by the Canada Revenue Agency.
Find Jobs in Construction
- Construction Job Centre
- Connecting people to opportunities within the construction industry in British Columbia.
- Skilled Trades Employment Program
- STEP has been supplying BC construction employers with job-ready workers for skilled trades jobs since 2006.
- Integrating Newcomers Program
- Provides an avenue for BC employers to access the skilled, experienced workers which the employers have not been able to find locally.
Trades Training Associations
- Industry Training Authority
- Oversees B.C.’s industry training and apprenticeship system.
- BC Construction Safety Alliance
- BCCSA is the construction industry’s premier safety organization, providing employers with the best in safety program, no-cost safety training, consultation services and resources to help them improve safety for construction workers in B.C.
- Construction Industry Training Network
- Non-profit agency that focuses on understanding the trades training needs for the sector, and on making recommendations to ITA and training providers.
- Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
- Not-for-profit organization bringing together the key participants in industry training from across Canada.
- Skills Canada BC
- A non-profit agency that promotes careers in the skilled trades and technologies to B.C. youth.
- Skill Plan
- Not-for-profit organization that provides workplace education consulting services and essential skills resources to the construction industry.
Additional Resources
- B.C. Employment Standards
- The Employment Standards Branch administers the Employment Standards Act and Regulation, which set minimum standards of wages and working conditions in most workplaces.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada