118,000 Retiring Workers in Residential Construction Means Great Career Opportunities for Millennials



Over the next decade, Canada’s residential construction industry will need to attract some 94,100 new workers in order to meet the housing needs of Canadians. These new jobs will open up as an estimated 21% of current workers retire, a departure of over 118,000 workers by 2026.

That’s the key finding of a new labour forecast report by BuildForce Canada, a national industry-led organization that studies the construction industry’s workforce requirements. The aging of Canada’s population is also clearly shown in the 2016 Census data released today by Statistics Canada.

“Our industry is responsible for over 1 million jobs annually and is an important part of the economy in every community across the country, so the wave of retirements starting in our industry, as shown by the BuildForce labour forecast, represents new career opportunities in construction for young people in all regions”, noted Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA). “Residential construction jobs are rewarding and pay well. They involve a wide range of skilled trades areas, and are increasingly technical in scope”, he added.

“CHBA looks forward to working closely with Canada’s colleges and universities to ensure young people have access to the high-quality training they will need to take advantage of these career opportunities. It is also critically important that high schools and parents recognize the great career opportunities available in home construction and renovation, to help steer students in this direction,” he concluded.

Residential construction directly and indirectly supports over one million jobs across the country, with an annual payroll exceeding $58 billion and contributing over $128 billion in economic activity. Some 48% of all construction jobs in Canada are tied to residential construction – the building of new homes, and the renovation and maintenance of Canada’s 14 million existing homes.

The complete BuildForce report can be found here.