RESCON: Help Wanted Report Maps Future for Skilled Trades Employment in GTA

VAUGHAN, ON, June 25, 2019 /CNW/ - The construction industry must focus on closing the skills gap and finding jobs for young people, says the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).

That's why RESCON, which commissioned reports on recruiting and retaining workers in the skilled trades in March, enthusiastically supports the recent report released by the Metcalf Foundation, the Toronto Regional Board of Trade and the United Way Greater Toronto. It is called "Help Wanted: Modernizing Employment and Skills Training Services in Ontario," and this research comes at a crucial time in the GTA, as employers struggle to fill jobs and people struggle to find them.

"This report provides a roadmap for where construction employment needs to go in the region," says RESCON vice-president Andrew Pariser. "We are supportive of efforts to align programs to reflect the real and current needs of employers. For the sake of stability and sustainability, our industry is dependent upon a skilled workforce and a talent pipeline that will prepare future generations of construction workers. That's why we support this report's seven recommendations."

The recommendations are:  

1. Support new service managers with regional labour market information.
2. Develop partnerships with local industry employers.
3. Provide flexible and continuous wraparound support following employment placement.
4. Encourage innovative approaches to serve the most vulnerable.
5. Target training resources to incumbent and mid-career workers.
6. Align with infrastructure and workforce investments.
7. Invest in capacity building, technical assistance and document learning about what works.

The report recognizes that the current system is barrier ridden, multifaceted and hard to navigate, Pariser says. The current workforce and employment service system:  

• Are unresponsive to local employer needs, the current economic environment and regional considerations.
• Only produce measurement and metrics of short-term outcomes.
• Are not reflective of industry and employer feedback.
• Leave out incumbent, mid-career and lower-skilled workers.

This report complements RESCON's reports on recruitment and retention of talent in residential and infrastructure construction. RESCON believes that skills development and employment service programs – when designed in partnership with employers – produce better outcomes for all parties involved.

Click here for the Help Wanted report.

WHAT IS RESCON?

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario is a unique association that represents new-home and condominium builders on issues which include labour relations, health and safety, WSIB, labour training and apprenticeship, building code reform and technical standards.

SOURCE Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON)

Aonghus Kealy, Director of Communications, RESCON, W: 905-760-7777, x. 111, C: 647-530-4855, [email protected]