As reported in The Guardian, in the midst of a housing shortage, P.E.I.’s construction industry is trying to keep up with demand while dealing with a shortfall of 300 workers, members of the legislative assembly heard on Tuesday.

There are currently close to 300 unfilled construction positions across P.E.I., according to Sam Sanderson, the general manager of the Construction Association of P.E.I.

And with an aging workforce, this shortage is expected to grow even more over the coming years.

“It’s the number one issue facing the construction industry in P.E.I.” Sanderson told the legislature.

“We have to do anything and everything we can to encourage and entice our youth, our women, our Indigenous communities and our newcomers to look at the trades sector.”

A BuildForce Canada report released in January estimated the Island’s construction industry is slated to lose 1,500 workers, or a quarter of the current labour force, to retirement between now and 2028.

If current trends are maintained, only 1,200 younger workers will replace them.

Large-scale projects such as new schools and a new Hillsborough Hospital will also place further demands on the construction industry.

“I don’t know if we can handle it,” Sanderson said.

“Everybody’s stressed, everybody’s tired. Everybody’s working hard.”

Sanderson said trained carpenters and site supervisors are the most in-demand workers right now.

The Construction Association currently sponsors programs to encourage young people, newcomers and women to enter the trades, but Sanderson said more should be done to reach high school and junior high students.

“For a long time, the construction industry was considered a second class industry, second class employment. That is no longer the case,” he said.

The Construction Association is currently conducting a survey of local wage rates in the construction industry on P.E.I.

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