A shift will occur in the number of occupations in the labour industry, according to the Construction Sector Council (CSC).
Before, most of the labour industry was residential and focused on housing. The new home building and renovation sector makes up a vast part of Canada's construction industry. Now, 50% of construction workers are employed in the residential sector.
However, Canada Labour Market Information predicts a shift in the labour market towards an increase in non-residential development and in particular development in the industrial, commercial and institutional construction sectors.
The proof is in the recent activity and development in Manitoba, which will greatly increase the demand for skilled trades workers. According to the CSC, in the Manitoba market place, there will be an increase of between 10-15% for skilled trades workers in Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Construction. This is because of several major projects occurring in the near future.
Examples of these projects:
- The Province of Manitoba announced additional funding for the streets of Winnipeg and for bicycle routes. This funding will affect the labour market, amounting to $50 million over the next two years.
- The Manitoba government also announced plans for a major renovation at St. Anthony's Hospital in the Pas, which will need the skills of many tradespersons and increase the demand for skilled labourers.
- Manitoba Hydro has also influenced the need for labour with the decision to construct more hydroelectric dams in the province.
- Their dam in Northern Manitoba will take more than 6 years to complete.
- As many as 600 people could be working at this site, although the number of new jobs has not been stated.
- Before building this dam, Manitoba Hydro wants to build two more substantial dams with help from First Nations groups Gull/ Keeyask ($3 billion) and Conawapa ($4 billion). These are major projects expected to be 3 to 6 times larger than the 200-megawatt Wuskwatim generating station.
