The province of Alberta, Canada, is grappling with a significant labour shortage in skilled trades within the construction industry, exacerbated by rapid population growth and aging infrastructure.
In 2023, Alberta experienced an influx of over 200,000 new residents, placing immense pressure on the construction sector to expand infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and housing. This population surge has highlighted an already critical issue: the shortage of skilled workers necessary to meet the rising demand for infrastructure development.
A forecast by BuildForce Canada reveals that Alberta’s construction industry will need to replace an estimated 42,500 workers, or 23% of its 2023 labor force, by 2033 due to retirements. This challenge is not unique to Alberta but is particularly pronounced in the province as it races to keep pace with its infrastructure needs.
Mike Martens, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of Alberta, emphasized the severity of the situation: “It’s literally the No. 1 issue on everyone’s mind. From the sewage lines underneath the water treatment plants to the roads, bridges, hospitals — all these things that really create the amazing life we have in North America are old infrastructure. We’ve taken it for granted, and now it’s needing fixing, and we don’t have the people available to fix it.”
Statistics Canada data underscores the urgency, showing that Alberta’s construction job vacancy rate soared to 6.7% in the third quarter of 2023. This is a significant increase compared to the maximum 3.5% vacancy rate observed in the five years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gary Zeitner, Senior Vice President at the Edmonton-based Abalone Group of Companies, a civil construction firm, highlighted the impact of the labor shortage: “We have an asset base of equipment that would allow us to do much more work than we’ve done in the last five years, but we simply can’t get the labor force that would be able to make use of all of that equipment. Operating the excavators and other equipment involved in the company’s work requires experience, and that takes time and on-the-job training.”
Zeitner added, “Our core group has come back, and we’ve got very few other people that we’ve needed to hire this year so far… and we would be needing to almost double our workforce. It would be challenging, that’s for sure.”
Alberta’s construction sector faces additional complexities due to its significant involvement in industrial projects, particularly within the energy sector. High-profile projects, such as the Dow Chemical plant and the Air Products hydrogen plant in the Edmonton area, are absorbing a large portion of the skilled workforce, offering higher salaries that make competition for labor even fiercer.
In response to the labour crisis, the provincial government has increased funding for post-secondary apprenticeship programs, leading to higher enrollment numbers. However, it will take time for these new workers to gain the necessary experience, particularly as the sector braces for a substantial wave of retirements.
