How can we change the conversation about careers in construction?

Careers in the trades are a dead end. The trades are dirty and unsafe. People go into the trades when they aren’t smart enough to get a “real job.”

All of these are things we’ve heard when we ask why people don’t consider a career in trades. That conversation needs to change. Over the next decade, about 40 percent of the construction workforce is expected to retire, and it’s important that new entrants to the field are able to replace them. But there are so many misconceptions out there, and it’s time that we debunked them.

Much has been made recently in the news about how workers in other provinces aren’t able to find jobs. That’s not true in B.C., where our economy is booming due to major projects being built. We will continue to see job growth in the construction sector, and young people going into the trades can be comfortable in the knowledge that they are on the path to a life-long career if they so choose.

Tradespeople do more than hammer in nails or run wire through a wall. Did you know that once you’ve completed your apprenticeship, you can go on to learn other skills such as estimating, project management and site supervision. Check out our course calendar for some of the courses we offer that go beyond your apprenticeship. While many people think of the trades as the day-to-day construction work, there are a lot more options that still classify you as working in the trades. Want to learn more about what a career in construction entails? Contact us and we’d be pleased to talk to you about some of the other options, some of which might surprise you.

Heard any other interesting reasons why people shouldn’t go into the trades? We’d love to hear them (so we can better counter them of course).

Mediaplanet’s Industry and Business recently published a piece about just this subject. Read more here.