The Journey Canada’s Construction Industry is On
The construction industry in Canada is changing at a drastic pace because of the consistent vital developments and trends in the region.
Experiencing this activity has allowed a surge in resource/commodity-based projects, along with large transportation projects and continuous need to expand city infrastructures. About a decade ago, the investment capital was $154 billion which then rose to $300 billion in 2014.
Increasing Demand for Employment
This enhanced activity is also readily apparent from the sizeable employment growth the industry has seen. The construction industry has added 600,000 new workers since 1996 alone. An employment growth rate of 86 percent!
The lack of available skilled and experienced construction workers to keep pace with this unprecedented demand and the increasing number of retirements due to the aging demographics are significant challenges. BuildForce Canada says the construction industry will need to find some 322,000 new workers by 2024, to keep pace with demand and to replace retirees in the intervening period.
For the longer term, attracting more youth and traditionally under-represented Canadians, (e.g., women and aboriginals), to careers in the construction industry must be a constant priority. But drawing them is only part of the challenge. Ensuring the industry`s training infrastructure is firing on all cylinders and that there are clear career pathways for these new industry entrants are priorities that must continue to be addressed.
Increasing Value of Construction Projects
In addition to record demand, the industry is also seeing individual projects becoming much more significant. ReNew Canada magazine annually publishes the top 100 public infrastructure projects underway in Canada. These are government projects, so they do not include petrochemical or mining projects. The high 52 plans on this year’s list were each individually valued at $1 billion or more. A new record!
As a result of capacity challenges and the growing complexity and remoteness of many of these projects and similar ones in the resource sector, the industry-at-large has developed a much higher appetite for new technologies and innovative approaches. Building Information Modeling (BIM), Lean Construction, pre-fabrication, and modularization are all making significant in-roads. Also, more collaborative delivery methodologies such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) will certainly be more seriously considered.
Other trends and challenges include the need to address green building and sustainability. More and more environmental and sustainability issues are routinely part of modern design and construction approaches and techniques, only because they make sense both regarding broad public policy as well as the bottom-line.
Finally, workplace health and safety remain a top priority of the construction industry. For an industry that is facing capacity challenges regarding available experienced and skilled workers and supervisory personnel, and an aging workforce characterizes that, the health and safety of that workforce becomes a paramount pre-occupation.
