BIG RESOURCE PROJECTS
With Canada’s abundance of natural resources – we’ve got the world’s third largest oil reserves, tonnes of minerals and metals, and huge hydroelectric capacity – projects in these areas will be plentiful over the foreseeable future.
- Do you enjoy the great outdoors – away from the rat race and craziness of big-city life?
- Have you ever thought about how cool it would be to operate some of the world’s largest heavy machinery, like those used in the Alberta oil sands?
- Are you an eco-warrior, all gung-ho about installing those strangely beautiful giant turbines you see peppered about on wind farms?
- Or perhaps you’re more interested in exploration and discovery, like developing the mines of northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region – named after the song by Johnny Cash (true!) and possibly one of the largest potential mineral reserves in Ontario.
Canada’s ailing infrastructure needs rehab
Canada’s infrastructure is important – for a healthy economy and for the quality of our everyday lives. It includes roads, highways and bridges, ports of entry, water and electrical systems, and even things like public parks, hospitals and libraries.
But a large portion of our infrastructure needs replacing or refurbishment. Much of it was constructed in the boom following the Second World War! Check out the news and you’ll see headlines for infrastructure projects happening in cities and towns right across the country. According to the 2019 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, “nearly 40% of roads and bridges are in fair, poor or very poor condition, with roughly 80% being more than 20 years old.”
The federal government has responded to this crisis with the New Building Canada Fund – the largest long-term infrastructure plan in Canadian history. This fund, which commits $14 billion over the next 10 years, is part of the larger New Building Canada Plan that will invest more than $53 billion in infrastructure across Canada between 2014 and 2024.
Do you see the job opportunity here?! A September 2021 RBC report forecasts that with the coming infrastructure boom, there will be severe shortages of industrial mechanics, welders and boilermakers.
Did you know?
The useful life of a highway is only 15 to 18 years, while a rural road can last 40 to 50 years.
The more you build, the more you have to maintain
One thing most people don’t think about is the maintenance of everything that’s already been built. The more you build, the more you have to maintain. And the tradespeople who work on new construction projects are the same tradespeople doing the maintenance, so both new construction and maintenance are drawing on the same group of tradespeople. And with all the retirements looming – see the section below – there will be fewer and fewer skilled tradespeople available to fill these positions. What this all means is more opportunity for people who pursue careers in the skilled trades!
Skilled trades are considered an “evergreen profession.” That means they will always be needed.
Did you know?
Approximately 20% of the construction workforce is expected to retire in the next 10 years.
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Career Finder
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Career Paths
Your career in the Canadian construction industry can lead you anywhere you want to go.
