CCA campaign calls for immigration reforms to fill construction job vacancies
The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is calling on all levels of government to bring in and help certify immigrants and temporary foreign workers to help alleviate the construction sector’s workforce shortage.
Canadian employers are collectively reporting nearly one million job vacancies – the highest-ever level. Construction employers account for about 81,000 of those vacancies, also a record high.
Meanwhile, construction demands continue to soar. The federal government, for example, is pushing ahead with a plan to repair, maintain and retrofit aging infrastructure to meet a target of becoming net-zero by 2050.
The challenge for the industry is how to find workers to perform these jobs. Workers are retiring at never-before-seen rates while the industry continues to deal with challenges of recruiting from conventional and new sources of labour.
The CCA says the solution to these challenges of labour supply and demand is to transform the immigration and temporary foreign labour systems.
As part of its Rebuild Canada’s workforce NOW campaign, the national association is calling for government to reform the immigration point system to award more points to applicants with experience in trades or as construction labourers, to work with provinces and territories to ensure skills matching is aligned between jurisdictions, and properly funded and supported, and to reform the Temporary Foreign Worker program to ease the recognition of credentials, reduce approval periods, offer more seasonal worker permits, and waive processes that hinder migration.
CCA is encouraging members to participate in a letter-writing campaign to encourage members of Parliament to raise these issues in caucus.
The national association will also make the issue a focal point during its National Construction Day on November 15. CCA representatives will be visiting members of Parliament and their staff to advocate for this issue as well as sustained programs for infrastructure investment, and improved procurement and project delivery methods.