Teach Your Children Well

Retiring baby boomers leave a gap in skilled-trade work force

By Michael J. Palladino

September 1, 2009

Canadian industries soon will be facing a shortfall of skilled workers as the rate of those retiring from the work force begins to exceed the numbers entering it. As we see growth in demand in such areas as the green energy sector, it is up to industry and government alike to educate students and today’s workers on the opportunities that exist.

According to Skills Canada, the national, not-for-profit organization that seeks to promote careers in skilled trades and technologies to Canadian youth, guidance counselors and parents are often undereducated on what skilled trades have to offer the future of our economy. Few realize, for example, that the average annual salary for skilled trades exceeds the national average.

In fact, the average annual salary for a skilled tradesperson is $50,000, making it $10,000 higher than the national average. According to Statistics Canada, in 2007 the national, median, hourly wage for those who had completed an apprenticeship program was $27.

The country’s work force is aging rapidly, and our birthrate is declining, which will lead to a shortage of about 1 million workers by 2020, according to The Conference Board of Canada.

Young workers need to get into the system now in order to fill the growing gap caused by retiring baby boomers.

WorldSkills Competition

One way that young people are being introduced to the skilled trades in this country is through WorldSkills International’s skills competition. The 40th WorldSkills competition took place Sept. 1 to 7 in Calgary and featured competitors from all over the globe.

More than 10,000 young engineers have competed in the competition throughout its long history. For this year’s event, more than 1,000 participants from 51 countries competed.

“We feel that this competition is a great opportunity to raise the profile of these jobs,” said Shaun Thorson, executive director of Skills Canada. “Participants get to expand their skills, use the latest in technology, and even learn new processes during their four days.”

In this format industry and education come together to create a competition designed to test the competitors’ knowledge base and skill set. In the CNC milling, CNC turning, and moldmaking competitions, the students are given a project to create and four days to do it.

“We are still battling the negative stereotypes about this type of work,” said Thorson. “That is why this event is so important. The trades have changed dramatically in recent years thanks to new technology, and now it’s up to us to change peoples’ opinions.”

Skills Canada offers programs and competitions each year and in every province, with the winners moving on to national and even international events.

“The demographics of the country are well-known,” he added. “We want young people to get the message early and we want them to enter the system now so there is less of a need a few years down the road.”

Learning a Trade

Hands-on education is an important part of learning a skilled trade. Classroom learning is necessary, but so too is learning at the machine.

At community colleges across the country, an emerging trend has been the latest machining technology making its way into the college laboratory. Partnerships with machine tool suppliers and distributors and investment from the colleges have allowed students to learn on the equipment that they will actually see and use on the shop floor upon graduation.

In the college setting it is possible to learn not just about the latest in machine tool technology, but also the latest in tooling, software, and controls.

“It’s very important that what we offer students is what they will be experiencing when they leave the education system for the private sector,” said James Cai, chief instructor of the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s (BCIT) machine shop.

BCIT offers not only 10 classes a day during the week, but part-time study is available on the weekends for those wanting to upgrade their skills. An apprenticeship program also can be a part of the course.

“At the end of the program we want to make sure that our students can hit the ground running,” said Cai. “If we are not producing workers that meet the needs of industry, then we are failing as educators.”

It’s not all about fighting stereotypes and attracting new students, however. According to Cai, as many as 20 percent of his students already have a degree in a field like mechanical engineering but want to add a hands-on element to their skill set.

“We see a lot of students return,” he said. “Students always have to keep learning because machines are always changing.”

For more information, visit www.skillscanada.com and www.bcit.ca.