Thousands of students explore construction careers at Future Building 2018
By Newinhomes on Apr 04, 2018
Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to be a crane operator, a carpenter, or a welder on a high-rise building in Toronto? Then you need to attend Future Building 2018.
From April 10-12, there will be 10,000 students in grades 7-12, as well as adults in career transition, attending the Future Building 2018 event at the Mississauga International Centre.
This is an opportunity for young people to discover and explore careers in the construction industry. There will be numerous trades professionals at the event, such as commercial painters, ironworkers, and glaziers, giving one-on-one advice and providing details about how to start down a specific career path.
There will also be interactive simulations, such as VR spray painting and a simulator that demonstrates what it’s like to work on an elevated platform.
The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OSC) presents the Future Building 2018 event at a time when the construction industry is in desperate need for young talent. According to a recent release by the OSC, approximately 87,000 of the construction industry’s half-million workforce are expected to retire by 2027.
“We’ve never seen a better time for young people to join the trades,” says Robert Bronk, CEO of OCS. “The trades are not just a job, but a career where in-demand skills generate immediate and well-paying opportunities. Unlike other careers, skilled trades apprentices earn while they learn, and some tradespeople make more than $60,000 right out of school, even while in training.”
In the last five years, a boom in Ontario construction has already increased the workforce by 50,000. Rolling off a year of record high new condo sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the residential industry alone will require many highly skilled tradespeople!
“I go to work and make a tangible difference in the world every day. The things that I work on will still be standing 50-100 years from now,” says Tricia Ward, a fourth year plumbing apprentice. “For youth, starting a career in the trades provides stability, benefits, great pay and fulfilling experiences. It’s a game plan that allows you to think ahead and plan for a career with long-term stability.”
The strong demand for high density living in urban areas doesn’t seem to be budging, so we urge students from all across the GTA and beyond to attend the Future Building 2018 event at the Mississauga International Centre.
There’s no point of planning all these incredible buildings if there’s no one to build them!
