P.E.I. construction industry rolls out recruitment video
'A bright future for me and for other people'
The province and P.E.I.'s construction industry are hoping to attract more people into the skilled trades.
A new promotional video was released today, aimed at getting people to think about the industry when making career choices.
The promotional video — that will air on TV and social media — features Islanders already working in the construction industry.
Sam Sanderson, general manager of the Construction Association of P.E.I., said the latest 2019 labour market projections show the industry needs 500 workers over the next five years.
"Right now carpenters is probably the most demand," he said. "But, there are great demands in plumbing, electrical, landscaping, equipment operators, truck drivers ... estimators, senior management. There's huge need all the way around."
Kelsey Hubley is hoping to turn her lifelong love of welding into a full-time career when she finishes school.
"Growing up I was always hands on with my dad and my family doing welding and bodywork and I was out in the garage," she said. "That was fun for me but I thought it had to be a hobby, and I didn't know that it could be a career."
'Work with my hands'
Jack Matheson, who is halfway through a 14-week apprenticeship with a local electrical company, said he's hoping the hands-on experience he's getting now will help him land a job when he's finished.
"It's been a good experience," he said. "I like getting to work with my hands. Just to kind of get a feel of if you actually like doing the work. If you're capable of doing the work."
A construction training program for newcomers is also set to be launched in the next month.
This will complement recent industry-run training programs for youth, and for Indigenous Islanders through a partnership with Lennox Island.
So far 50 Islanders are taking part in those programs.
"We're going to definitely need the workers now," Sanderson said. "We've got an immediate need. We've got a short-term need and we've got long-term needs that really have to be considered over the future."
Opportunities that are out there
Hubley said training to be a welder has given her new-found confidence.
"A bright future for me and for other people," she said. "I want to inspire other men and women to come take this opportunity, and to be a part of the trades and to fill these jobs and to do things that they thought that maybe they couldn't."
Sanderson agreed that getting the word out about all the industry has to offer is integral.
"We really need to, you know, start putting our best foot forward and creating those opportunities and educating people on the vibrancy of the industry and the opportunities that are out there," Sanderson said.
The provincial government provided $125,000 for the campaign.