Reports

April 16, 2025

Laying the Foundation: Solving Labour Supply in the Skilled Trades

Alberta has tremendous economic opportunities, and tens of billions in major projects both proposed and just getting underway; but one of the most significant governors 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.

Laying the Foundation: Solving Labour Supply in the Skilled Trades provides a bold, actionable blueprint to solve one of Alberta’s most urgent economic challenges: a growing shortage of skilled trades workers.

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.

Read the full report

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.

Hear the practical reality from tradespeople themselves about what their jobs are really like, why the skilled trades make great careers, as well as some of the labour challenges they see:

Blueprint

Recommendations for Addressing Labour Supply Constraints

Our policy recommendations broadly fall into one of these two camps:

01 Short-Term Policy Actions

The “laying sod” approach.

02 Long-Term Policy Actions

The “planting the seeds” approach.

01. Short-Term Policy Actions

The following short-term policy recommendations aim to address immediate and near-term labour supply constraints in the skilled trades through targeted measures that will inject ready-made talent into the labour pool.

Attracting Skilled Labour:

Make it easy for journeypersons to move from other provinces to Alberta
Prioritize immigrants with experience in the skilled trades
Simplify the process for those with international work experience

“Aviation connects people to opportunities, experiences, and to each other. To ensure Alberta and Canada remain connected, we must enable sustained careers in skilled trades.

This requires a creative and collective effort to stimulate interest, remove barriers, and empower the next generation.”

-Matthew Cox, President & CEO

02. Long-Term Policy Actions

The following recommendations target labour supply constraints by attracting new people to skilled trades careers from within Alberta. This often begins at a young age, continuing all the way through journeyperson certification and beyond:

Inspiring Young Students:

Steer students towards, not away from, the trades in the K-12 education system
Provide the space and resources for trades training
Encourage more educators to teach the trades, and more tradespeople to teach
Ensure dollars follow students to trades programs, wherever they exist

Building a Strong and Inclusive Ecosystem of Training:

Allow higher apprentice-to-journey person ratios
Align incentives between businesses and apprentices to ensure apprenticeship completion
Improve clarity for post-secondary delivery and viability for international students
Reform the Post-Graduation Work Permit so that international students can pursue education in the trades

Investing in Women:

Connect young women with the trades
Enhance workplace culture so that all workers feel valued and supported

“Skilled trades are the foundation of Alberta’s economy, and our future relies on expanding opportunities for all Albertans.

By removing barriers and fostering inclusion, we create meaningful careers, strengthen industries, and secure long-term prosperity for our province.”

-Kristi Cawthorn, CEO, Startec Group of Companies

Bottom Line

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. Without immediate and coordinated action, this shortage puts at risk the province’s economic competitiveness, housing affordability, and quality of life.

The Task Force’s recommendations offer a clear path forward: attracting skilled workers from within Canada and around the world, inspiring young students to see the trades as a viable and rewarding career option, strengthening apprenticeship training and labour mobility, and engaging more women to pursue trades. By focusing on these areas, Alberta can build a resilient, diverse workforce that meets the demands of today while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.

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.