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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 1, 20 22 | 16 New Conestoga Skilled Trades Campus www.conestogac.on.ca/trades Think Trades. | Think Conestoga. | Apply today. Industry demand for skilled trades has never been higher. Conestoga's Skilled Trades Campus, opening in September, will help meet this demand. Located in Cambridge, on more than 40 acres next to highway 401, the first phase of this campus will feature more than 150,000 sq ft of shops and labs and includes plumbing, electrical, carpentry apprenticeship and machining trades. The second phase of the multi-year development plan includes HVAC, millwright and electrical/mechanical automation trades opening in September 2023. The Conestoga Skilled Trades Campus is expected to be among the largest trades schools in Canada, designed and equipped to meet the unique requirements of trades education and training. Image byWalter Fedy By Jay Menard When looking at potential career choices, it's always good to have a sense of what jobs are going to be available in the future. When it comes to the skilled trades, it's an interesting mix of old favourites and emerging industries that make up the job market -- but there may be a challenge filling those roles in the not-too-distant future. "The top in-demand skilled trades are probably electricians, plumbers, welders, and carpenters. These occupations will most likely always be in demand due to the universal need for these occupations -- in residential settings, commercial settings, as well as for public maintenance and construc- tion," explained Khadija Hamidu, executive director, Workforce Planning Hamilton. "I think in the future we can see an influx of green jobs such as solar technicians, wind turbine technicians, etc. However, occupations such as electricians and plumbers will always be in demand." According to the Government of Canada website, the top in-demand skilled trades across the country are carpenter -- with 17,146 expected job openings -- cook, hairstylist, auto service technician, and welder. In Ontario, a 2021 labour market report from the Canadian Apprenticeship program pointed to boilermaker, bricklayer, cook, and welders as the top in- demand skilled trades in this region. Kelly Hoey, executive director at Halton Industry Education Council -- ApprenticeSearch.com, explained that what poten- tial employees are searching for and what employers actually need may not be aligned. "Speaking to what we see on our platform, ApprenticeSearch. com, we often see a disparity between what applicants are looking for work, and what trades are in-demand," Hoey said. "We see job seekers with no trades experience tend to gravitate toward trades they've heard of: electrician, plumber, carpenter, automotive service tech. But when it comes to what employers are looking for on our site, the top trades are: refrig- eration and air conditioning (HVAC), boilermaker, automotive service technician, and horticultural technician." "Boilermakers are actually the No. 1 in-demand trade in Canada -- and this is a good example of a trade many might not have heard about but has a lot of opportunities attached to it," Hoey added. "We've partnered extensively with our local Boilermakers Union to bring awareness of the trade to individu- als…from high school students to older job seekers interested in finding work in the trades." Lisa Rizzato, the chief executive officer at the Centre for Skills Development, stated that many employers are feeling the labour shortage that has been going on for more than a decade. "The initial insight into this approaching trend suggested the shortage would be felt as we saw the boomer generation head into retirement, leaving gaps in various trades expertise across multiple industries," Rizzato explained. "The push for companies to become more committed to developing apprentice training plans was meant to offset not only their own anticipated needs as these gaps became more present, but to also prepare the next generation of expertise to support the industries and the ongoing opportunity for jour- ney persons to mentor apprentices." Time to explore the skilled trades job market WE NEED YOU !SKILLED TRADES