January 31, 2022 Gatineau, Quebec Employment and Social Development Canada
Now more than ever, as Canada recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, skilled tradespeople are in high demand to fill well-paying jobs and build rewarding careers. The most recent projections estimate about 700,000 skilled trades workers are expected to retire between 2019 and 2028, creating an ever-growing need to recruit and train thousands more.
That is why today, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, launched an advertising campaign to promote the skilled trades as a strong first-choice career path for youth and young adults.
Also launched as part of this campaign is Canada.ca/skilled-trades, a comprehensive website that offers a one-stop national repository for information about the skilled trades. The site will help young Canadians learn about the more than 300 skilled trades in Canada and the Red Seal trade designation. The site also highlights in-demand trades in each region and available financial support offered by the Government of Canada. The campaign will reach youth and young adults through popular social media platforms, websites, campus billboards, public transit and national broadcast media.
This campaign was developed with insights and valuable contributions from the special advisors to Minister Qualtrough, who each in their own right is a long-standing and passionate advocate for the skilled trades, encouraging apprenticeships and promoting this rewarding career path to Canadians from coast to coast. The advisory committee was composed of:
- France Daviault, Executive Director of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum;
- Jamie McMillan, Founder of KickAss Careers and talented ironworker and boilermaker by trade;
- Mandy Rennehan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Freshco; and
- Matt Wayland RSE, Executive Assistant to the International Vice-President and Canadian Director of Government Relations for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Canada.
To further support more Canadians to join the skilled trades, the Government of Canada is investing nearly $1 billion annually in apprenticeship supports through grants, loans, tax credits, Employment Insurance benefits during in-school training, project funding, and support for the Red Seal Program, in addition to existing funding programs. Announced in Budget 2019, the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy will strengthen existing apprenticeship supports and programs by helping apprentices and key apprenticeship stakeholders, including employers, to participate and succeed in the skilled trades.
