Teens to the rescue?

A three-day exhibition aimed at attracting students from Grade 7 to 12 to a career in the construction industry is set for southern Ontario in early April.

Co-sponsored by Employment Ontario and the Ontario Construction Secretariat, Future Building 2014 will present an optimistic outlook of the jobs available in Ontario’s industrial, commercial and institutional construction industry. 

“Students who learn a trade have excellent prospects of quickly establishing themselves in a viable, sustainable and honourable career,” says Sean Strickland, CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat.

With the baby boom generation already beginning to retire in droves, Ontario’s construction industry is in immediate need of workers to step in and fill the void. Estimates suggest the shortage could reach as high as 100,000 workers over the next five years.

“A skilled labour shortage is a real threat to our long-term economic health,” said Strickland. “When the province is working, it grows. A stable and growing labour force is one of the foundations of economic prosperity.”

The 11^th edition of the biennial Future Building exhibition will take place from April 8 to 10 at the Mainway Recreation Centre in Burlington, Ont. 

Burlington is about 60 km southwest of Toronto.

For more information visit www.futurebuilding.ca.