ALBERTA, April 17, 2025 — The Business Council of Alberta (BCA) has released its latest major report—Laying the Foundation: Solving Labour Supply in the Skilled Trades—offering a bold, actionable blueprint to solve one of Alberta’s most urgent economic challenges: a growing shortage of skilled trades workers.
Alberta has tremendous economic opportunities, and tens of billions in major projects both proposed and just getting underway; but one of the most significant inhibitors on the growth of our province is the persistent shortage of skilled tradespeople to build the homes, complete the major projects, operate and maintain the machinery and power the economy of our future.
“Skilled tradespeople are the foundation of Alberta’s economy. Their hard work builds communities, keeps things running, ensures we are safe, and unlocks the economic value of our nation,” said Adam Legge, President of the Business Council of Alberta. “But right now, we don’t have enough of them—and longstanding barriers continue to keep young people from pursuing this meaningful career and make it harder to train and retain the people we need.”
Amid historic population growth and significant new investments across multiple industries—from housing and resource development to renewables and aviation—Alberta’s skilled trades workforce is under increasing strain. This challenge is emerging at a time when Canada is renewing its focus on building critical infrastructure and strengthening domestic capacity in response to growing international trade uncertainty. Without immediate and coordinated action, the shortage of skilled trades puts at risk not only Alberta’s economic competitiveness, housing affordability, and quality of life, but also the country’s broader ability to deliver on national priorities in an increasingly unpredictable global economy.
This new report builds on the findings of Stretched Thin: Labour Supply in the Skilled Trades, released in October 2024, and underscores the urgency of action in light of shifting economic and demographic conditions. Together, these publications highlight how persistent systemic barriers—biases against trades careers, low apprenticeship completion rates, regulatory hurdles, and underrepresentation of women and immigrants—are limiting Alberta’s labour supply. Inconsistent and unstable working conditions further complicate efforts to recruit and retain skilled workers.
“We have plenty of work, but we can’t get enough skilled tradespeople to do it all. It’s a comment we’ve heard from nearly every Alberta company that employs skilled tradespeople,” says Legge. “The time has come to tackle the shortage head-on, and this report offers viable solutions – by bringing together contributions from businesses, labour, government, post-secondary, and especially trades people themselves.”
The report, developed with input from a cross-sector Task Force on Labour Supply in the Skilled Trades and broad input from across the skilled trades ecosystem, presents a mix of short-term and long-term policy recommendations—ranging from attracting ready-to-work talent from outside the province to strengthening Alberta’s apprenticeship ecosystem and promoting the trades as a first-choice career path.
Key opportunity areas include:
- Attracting Skilled Labour: Fast-tracking recruitment and credential recognition for skilled tradespeople from other provinces and countries.
- Inspiring Young Students: Promoting trades careers early in schools and engaging parents, educators, and role models.
- Building a Strong and Inclusive Training Ecosystem: Improving training pathways, enhancing labour mobility, and supporting apprenticeship completions.
- Investing in Women and Underrepresented Groups: Addressing inclusion gaps to build a more diverse and sustainable skilled workforce.
The report emphasizes that Alberta’s skilled trades shortage is not just a labour issue—it’s a prosperity issue. With the right public policies in place and alignment between government, industry and other stakeholders, the province can build a world-leading skilled trades workforce—one that reflects Alberta’s diversity and supports long-term economic growth.
Read the full report, Laying the Foundation: Solving Labour Supply in the Skilled Trades.
About the Business Council of Alberta
The Business Council of Alberta is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to building a better Alberta within a more dynamic Canada. Composed of the chief executives and leading entrepreneurs of the province’s largest enterprises, Council members are proud to represent the majority of Alberta’s private sector investment, job creation, exports, and research and development. The Council is committed to working with leaders and stakeholders across Alberta and Canada in proposing bold and innovative public policy solutions and initiatives that will make life better for Albertans. https://businesscouncilab.com/