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New $15M scholarship fund takes aim at construction labour shortage

'It will have a huge impact on housing affordability if we don't keep building,' said Scott Fash, executive director of the BILD Calgary Region

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The Calgary construction sector is hoping a $15-million scholarship fund will help reverse a growing labour shortage in Alberta.

Jay Westman, chair and CEO of Jayman Built, announced the fund at SAIT on Tuesday morning, with $7 million already committed and a goal to more than double the current contributions from industry partners.

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He estimated there is a 30 per cent shortage of skilled trades in the construction industry, which results in higher construction costs.

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“One of the reasons I believe that we are getting such strong interprovincial migration is our housing affordability,” said Westman, who kick-started the fund with a $2-million contribution. “That’s our advantage, and unless we solve this here we’re going to continue to escalate at an exponential rate, and that’s not healthy for anyone.”

The issue began to emerge after the 2008-09 recession but was exacerbated over the past couple of years of the pandemic. Westman said the time to build a house has gone from four or five months to more than a year.

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Scott Fash, executive director of the Building Industry and Land Development Alberta, said the shortages in skilled labour are across all construction trades, but especially for framers. He said over the two years of the pandemic, Calgary absorbed 75 per cent of the new housing inventory.

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“It will have a huge impact on housing affordability if we don’t keep building,” said Fash. “While there’s headwinds with interest rates, some warning of a looming recession, the fact is we need to build more housing in Calgary, we need to build more housing in Edmonton. And with that, there’s going to be demand for a lot of people to help build those homes.”

Homebuilder Jay Westman chats with SAIT building trades student Michael Orr after he announced a $15-million scholarship program for building trades students at SAIT on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.
Homebuilder Jay Westman chats with SAIT building trades student Michael Orr after he announced a $15-million scholarship program for building trades students at SAIT on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. Gavin Young/Postmedia

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. released a housing supply report on Tuesday that shows a 20 per cent increase in housing starts in Calgary and Edmonton since the beginning of the year.

If the BILD Alberta Scholarships for Construction Careers hits its $15-million goal, the fund could cover the four-year apprentice and diploma tuitions worth $5,000 for 3,000 students at SAIT and NAIT.

Michael Orr, a framer in the apprenticeship program at SAIT, said finances were a stumbling block he had to overcome for his training, and this initiative will help alleviate those concerns for others.

“One of the major barriers to entry for formal training was taking time off work and a potential interruption in income during the training period,” he said.

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Westman noted the high rates of pay throughout the apprenticeship program — about $40 per hour for a fourth-year journeyman plumber, for example, roughly $80,000 a year.

Dr. David Ross, SAIT president and CEO, speaks following an announcement by homebuilder Jay Westman of a new $15-million scholarship program for building trades at SAIT on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.
Dr. David Ross, SAIT president and CEO, speaks following an announcement by homebuilder Jay Westman of a new $15-million scholarship program for building trades at SAIT on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. Gavin Young/Postmedia

David Ross, president and CEO of SAIT, said about 6,000 students are currently enrolled in all of the school’s trades programs, down from a peak of about 10,000 and roughly 50 per cent of current enrolment capacity.

He added the issue exists across North America and Europe.

“What we’re seeing in general, some of the expectations people have with what they want to do, how they want to do it, the hand skills that people develop perhaps when they’re younger, aren’t as apparent as they used to be,” said Ross. “So you don’t have that natural flow of people into trades.”

This funding, he added, will help them increase their presence and priority in schools across the province in presenting a future in trades to the next generation.

jaldrich@postmedia.com

Twitter: @JoshAldrich03

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