Ontario is facing a construction labour shortage, and for construction students at London’s Fanshawe College, the high demand has created a student-focused job market. 

Associate dean of the Donald J Smith School of Building Technology at Fanshawe College, Steve Crema, said the construction industry currently has a low unemployment rate, meaning students entering the workforce have multiple options when they leave school. 

Last year Fanshawe’s construction engineering program had 45 students eligible for a work placement, Crema said, and when it came time for them to choose a co-op, there were around 200 companies looking to hire. 

“We needed 200 students, and we were only providing 45. So that meant every student had between four and five positions that they could choose from,” he said. 

“The supply of students is a lot lower than the demand for jobs, so the availability of positions out there is very high. So it really is a student-centric environment right now.”

But the high labour demand also means instructors are harder to come by with high-paying opportunities in their fields.

Crema said Fanshawe has had to adapt. 

Keep reading on cbc.ca