More and more Canadians are struggling to find reliable contractors for their home projects, and a new report from Homestars.com — Canada’s largest network of verified and community-reviewed home service professionals — showed that 45 per cent of Canadians find it difficult to find a reliable and trustworthy local pro, which led to 31 per cent of Canadians delaying or cancelling a home project.
As president of Teahen Construction Limited, Chris Teahen says the challenges for the industry are two-fold.
“New home builds are very stagnant, and one of the factors in that is the American influence,” Teahen said. “Another challenge for people in the industry is red tape. Some municipalities are easier to work with and have vastly different time frames for projects. In some cases, it's almost as long to fill out the paperwork and cut through the red tape as it is to build the actual project.”
Matt Feeney, owner of Feeney Design Build and the director of the renovators Council with the Perth-Huron Builders Association (PHBA), adds he is also noticing the labour shortage locally.
“Just even looking online, the amount of construction companies at Perth County, looking for labourers and skilled trades is quite high right now,” Feeney said. “I think people are still not seeing this as a career opinion. Maybe some are not even aware of the potential of being a skilled trades worker and the benefits.”
Larry Otten of Larry Otten Contracting Inc. is a PHBA past president and says the trades have had a hard time especially marketing to younger generations.
“I think, as an industry, maybe it didn't always have the same stability or benefits of you a factory job or you know a job that you would get say get a degree from whether that's college or university,” Otten said. “That being said I think our industries come a long way whether through health and safety and professionalism.”
Another big challenge facing the industry is the veterans of the industry are nearing closer to the retirement age and training new employees can be challenging without the right support systems in place.
“A big challenge we are seeing is people in the industry are getting closer to or are already thinking about retirement, but there are no replacements to fill those voids in the industry,” Teahen said. “It’s also a challenge because there are younger people who are ready to come into the industry but if there aren’t people to mentor them who will they learn from.”
This isn’t a new problem and has been happening for the past decade according to Courtney Teahen, director of public affairs for Teahen Construction and director of education with PHBA.
“We've been talking about this for 10 years, so this is not new but the government and the general public are just starting to talk about but this is an exponential crisis,” she said. “When COVID hit healthcare and construction were the only two industries that did not shut down.”
Feeney meanwhile says for workers looking to join the industry it's important to understand that the expectation is that you will work hard.
“People have to realize you got to go out and break a sweat,” Feeney said. “People need to realize the benefits of putting in a hard day's work both mentally and physically.”
Courtney Teahan agrees saying that unfortunately social media and the reliance on the online world is making it that much more challenging to attract younger workers.
“There's a huge impact on people scrolling. This is the reality and seeing what I could have you know be that in work or relationships or money and they're thinking, I'm going to chase this scroll until I can get there,” Courtney said. “ That being said, there's plenty of young people who want to work hard still. But workers have to go out and work from the bottom up digging holes versus being the guy running the company. That takes time paying your dues, working long hours, staying off your phones at work, showing up when you say you are going to, taking the time, and basic things like not packing up early.”
Courtney Teahan and Otten realized the need to attract younger workers a few years ago and worked collaboratively with the local school boards to highlight the industry. The duo has also teamed up to create six different scholarships for local students.
“Schools have been very helpful and parents are becoming more aware that we are not trying to push everybody to trades. In rural Ontario, we have students more willing to join the trade sector than opposed to areas in the province like the 415, 905 area codes. We decided we wanted to present the scholarships to someone who is an all-around person and citizen. Someone who shows up for school, is respectful, follows the rules, and are a good human," she said. “The scholarship can be given out to anyone who is pursuing a career in the industry regardless of what level of education they are planning to pursue Maybe the scholarship is used for tools, or for schooling, or gas to start an apprenticeship.”
While the industry is navigating the challenges of finding workers and training the next generation, local experts say it's important to make sure homeowners are hiring the right people for their jobs. This can be things like asking for references for jobs, contacting local homebuilding associations, and word of mouth.