Skilled Trades

Despite the significant attention paid to Canada’s loss of manufacturing jobs at a broader level, little is known about how individual Canadian regions have fared since the manufacturing employment decline of 2003-2009, caused by a combination of increased overseas competition, a rising Canadian dollar, and the 2008-2009 Great Recession.

How did Canadian regions fare during the manufacturing employment decline of 2003-2009? Were manufacturing jobs replaced by comparable jobs or by different jobs, thus marking a permanent shift in the nature of employment?

Tradespeople need 21st-century digital skills to adapt to today’s more technologically advanced manufacturing sector. This summary looks at ways to strengthen training in Canadian manufacturing.

Commercial kitchens are becoming more automated, connected, and diverse workplaces. This briefing looks at the skill sets that food services tradespeople—in particular, the Red Seal trades of cook and baker—need to adapt, as well as how employers can find the skilled talent they need.

As the automotive industry shifts toward smart and connected vehicles, tradespeople who service cars, trucks, heavy duty equipment, and other vehicles will need stronger digital competencies. This briefing looks at how stakeholders in the automotive sector can reduce barriers to digital upskilling for both apprentices and journeypersons.

This report looks at the social and emotional skills that construction tradespeople will need to participate in an industry that is becoming increasingly multi-generational and diverse.

A digital revolution is coming to the skilled trades. Tradespeople will need a range of new digital skills to keep pace with the future of work. In this report, we look at how Canadian apprenticeship training can adapt to the future of work.

The revolution is being sparked by automation, low-carbon economies, digitization, and other emerging work trends. These new technologies need skills that are not usually at the core of a trade school education.