Construction groups launch survey to learn what keeps tradespeople satisfied

Different trades have been facing labour shortages off and on for a decade. PHOTO: RESCON

With almost 90,000 Ontario construction workers set to retire in the next 10 years, a group representing the province’s residential builders has sprung to action, launching a survey to learn what satisfies trades professionals day-to-day as they build the province from the ground up.

That figure comes from a report by BuildForce Canada, a national industry-led organization that provides labour market information and statistics on the Canadian construction workforce.

“We’re thinking about the future,” said Andrew Pariser, vice-president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). “We’ve seen labour shortages on and off in different trades for more than a decade. We must prepare for how this will affect all construction sectors including residential and infrastructure and how it will impact our ability to build in the future.

“Our goal is to better understand how we can retain current workers, recruit new workers, and build a labour force to match tomorrow’s needs. If we recruit the right people and provide them with the right opportunities, we can greatly improve all training and apprenticeship initiatives.”

RESCON has received broad industry support from the Ontario Residential Council of Construction Associations (ORCCA), the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario; the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association; the Ontario Skilled Trade Alliance; the Heavy Construction Association of Toronto; and the Ontario Construction Career Alliance. They’re helping promote the survey to their members.

The academically based survey will be carried out by Job Talks, an organization with a strong track record in academia and in construction. Recent Job Talks projects include a national survey of workers in Red Seal trades and a complementary interview series on YouTube, as well as a national study that reveals new distinct segments of Canada’s working population.

“It takes at least 20 minutes and is open to any person who works on tools or owns a pair of safety boots in infrastructure and residential trades in Ontario,” said Jon Callegher, with Job Talks. It has multiple choice and open-ended questions that “help us understand how construction workers really feel about their jobs and to gauge their happiness on the job.”

The results of the survey will inform a report on retention and job satisfaction of trades workers in construction.

About 200 workers have filled out the survey so far and the goal is to have 1,000 filled out.

The survey is available at this link.

For more information, email dibe@rescon.com.