Long-Term Labour Market Forecast Underway
Prince George, BC – Efforts are underway to update the province’s labour market forecast…to, again, nail down just what the looming labour shortage will look like should many of the major projects planned for the North go ahead.
President of the Prince George Construction Association, Roz Thorn, says, "We’re just in the process of working provincially on our labour market forecasting for the next 10 to 12 years – and the statistics are based on the potential status of the major projects throughout Northern British Columbia."
Thorn says with approximately $65 to $70-billion dollars worth of projects ‘on the books’ for the region in the coming years, capacity within the industry is critical to those projects moving forward.
Thorn points out the North accounts for seven-percent of BC’s population, but is two-thirds of the province, geographically. "So there’s great challenges for us in that regard," she says, "And if many of the projects go ahead at the same time, then we will definitely have shortages and wouldn’t be able to fill them either provincially or from across Canada." Thorn says a decade ago it was easy to attract workers from slower parts of the country, but those jurisdictions are now busy, as well.
The PGCA President says the forecast will give both project proponents and industry an accurate snapshot of what the labour requirements are going to be and the shortages that may occur if the projects listed to proceed actually do. She expects it will be ready in three or four months time.
Comments
“if many of the projects go ahead at the same time, then we will definitely have shortages and wouldn’t be able to fill them either provincially or from across Canada.”
Perhaps that is an indicator that many of the projects should not go ahead at the same time?
Perhaps the pace of development should be aligned to the pace at which labour can support them?
Perhaps developments should be undertaken in a way that promotes sustainable growth and in a way that allows the country, provinces and cities to actually plan for and manage that growth in an effective manner?
Perhaps now is a really good time to come up with some new ideas on how we can continue to develop our economy, while at the same time, ensuring that Canadian citizens continue to benefit from our resources even if we need to utilize foreign labour?
Perhaps the study needs to start with a retroactive look at past projects on that so-called major project list.
Log the change in the list over time, the length projects are on the list before they get developed and which projects have fallen off the list.
Look at the Coast Inn of the North, as a for instance. That hotel was supposed to have had an addition some 3 decades ago on the property that Gold’s Gym is on now. It is one that sticks out like a sore thumb in my mind.
Of course, there are others which were never on the list or where on for a short period of time because they were announced and then built very soon afterwards.
A bit of reality has to come into such predictions. It is not there now and never has been.
didn’t Shirley bond just make her prediction for the next 33 years?
Don’t be silly gus. Those major projects are dependent on those other major projects, which are of course dependent on economic factors and market forces which are dependent on things that nobody can predict with any level of accuracy.
Oh hell, it’s obvious the whole thing is just one big circular exercise which is undertaken to make people feel good, LOL.
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