Skilled trades program for Indigenous workers gets $5M as industry faces retirements 'in droves'

Getting more Indigenous people working in the skilled trades will help Canada achieve its housing goals, according to a news release from the federal government. 

It announced Wednesday it is giving $5 million over five years through the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy to an Alberta-based non-profit that trains Indigenous people for jobs in the skilled trades. 

"This program absolutely works," said Starla Jacknife, a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation who graduated from a Trade Winds to Success program in 2023.

Jacknife said she was inspired to pursue work in carpentry after seeing an ad for the program featuring a series of women in ribbon skirts. 

Jacknife said the training she received through Trade Winds to Success prepared her for work by offering safety ticket training, tutoring in math and science and mock job interviews. 

"Every single day I get to learn something new, hone my skills, work with tools, listen to music, and make money," she said, after nearly two years in the field. 

About 63 per cent of people who begin work in the skilled trades in Alberta stay in the field after one year, according to Statistics Canada data from 2020.

The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy funds projects that support trades related to home building.

"It's clear we need workers and we need them quickly," said Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Steven MacKinnon at a news conference in Edmonton Wednesday.

"Construction workers with deep seated knowledge in the exact areas required to build up our country are retiring in droves. They're retiring quicker than we can get more new workers in."

By 2033, 263,400 workers in construction — 21 per cent of the current labour force — are expected to retire, according to data from BuildForce Canada.

The government of Alberta announced $1.5 million in funding over three years for Trade Winds in December 2024.

Trade Winds for Success board member Chris Waples, who is also director of Local 488 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, said this federal funding will allow Trade Winds to train 290 Indigenous workers in areas like carpentry, electrical work, pipe trades and welding.

Waples said the training will have additional benefits in Indigenous communities. Trainees are expected to build 13 high-efficiency homes on First Nations and Metis Settlements in Alberta. 

"Education has the power to change the trajectory of a person's life and we have witnessed first hand the transformative impact our programs have on our students and their communities," Waples said.