Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

Yesterday’s federal budget set aside billions for new home construction across Canada.

Construction includes trades like carpenters, plumbers and electricians who build houses but they also work in industry.

Road construction, grain processing plants and other commercial ventures also need tradespeople.

“The investment here in Regina by the the Co-op refinery and expanding the refinery, that would be commercial, right? So it’s across the board, I guess is what I’m saying,” Augustin said.

The SATCC doles out the seats in the needed trades and while the number of seats and where they are located varies, Augustin pointed out they do get information on longer- and medium-term needs.

“There is a strong demand for skilled trades that is projected over the next five to 10 years, based on current projections, as well as forecasts of economic activity, as well as investment in the future,” he said.

The existing workforce is aging, which includes skilled trades so that means two aspects of need for tradespeople that have been here for years.

“There’s a replacement element to this as well, not just a growth element,” he said.

In the last economic cycle’s peak 10 years ago, the system had over 10,000 apprentices and the SATCC delivered about 7,000 training seats.

While they work with about eight training institutes now, Sask Polytechnic runs 85 to 90 per cent of them. At a career fair at the Prince Albert campus several weeks ago, Deborah Stevenson said one of the main recruiters is in industrial mechanics and there is a lot of interest.

“Probably industrial mechanics, heavy equipment, truck and transport, and then a lot of the technology engineering programs that are geared towards the trades,” she said.

Those are jobs in electrical engineering, power engineering, mechanical engineering.

Events like the fair are meant to connect students with employers. Of the 55 booths at the fair, most of the police forces in Saskatchewan had tables at the fair, as did large employers like Brandt Tractor and some of the mines.

Sask. Polytechnic in Prince Albert had a recent career fair, connecting students with employers, many of whom were looking for skilled tradespeople. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

Apprenticeship involves three parties – the apprentice, the journeyperson and the employer who commits to hiring the apprentice and training them.

The apprentice spends two months in school learning some theory and some hands-on skills before returning to work with the journeyperson who adds to the hands-on knowledge.

Each journeyperson can train two apprentices simultaneously, Augustin said.

As far as why high school students would want to consider trades as a career both Stevenson and Augustin agree the earning potential is very good.

“I think that going into the trade is as valuable a choice as any other because of the potential earning incomes, a lot of older individuals will transition from maybe you know, the tools into higher level jobs,” Stevenson said.

Recruiting for trades is sometimes targeted at very specific groups, such as girls at a welding course last summer. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

Augustin said some of the trades can earn significant amounts of money, such as a power line technician.

Statistics show the earlier people get into the trades, the more money they earn and the more successful their career is, he said.

While the average age of an apprentice is 28 and are people have who spent some time trying other things then decide to try a trade, Augustin said that they are working with high schools to encourage students to start younger.

The SATCC runs the Sask. Youth Apprenticeship (SYA) program through schools and teachers in the school actually being the process of training high school students.

Youth are given a series of challenges and introduced to the concept of trades as a career. If they complete the program, they are eligible for benefits if they enter the SATCC’s trades program within the next several years.

Benefits include waiving entrance fees into the system or having part of their training paid for or getting credit for some trade time hours.

“They typically come in at least five years earlier than our typical (older) apprentice and they are, based on employer feedback, typically more successful, they’re a better apprentice and they’ve become a better journey person,” he said.

The province of Saskatchewan, using the SATCC, has also bumped up the living allowance it gives apprentices in a bid to attract more people.

Because the two-month training periods often mean going to other communities, the apprentice is faced with paying for two residences at the same time.

Now, they get $200/week (previously $125) to help cover the costs for the training period.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

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