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An executive with Hamilton, Ont.-based mechanical and HVAC subcontractor Lancaster Group says his efforts to promote the trades to secondary school students has taken on greater urgency in recent times as Canada prepares to ramp up new nation-building projects.

Aaron Gorka, a business developer with Lancaster, was onsite at Hamilton’s Bishop Ryan Catholic secondary school recently with his father Rick Gorka, a former contractor and HVAC journeyperson, to promote jobs in the HVAC and related trades to two classes of shop and construction students.

The younger Gorka said he is concerned the major projects Canada will be undertaking may not be able to proceed as swiftly as hoped due to lack of worker capacity.

“The recent federal budget, it was a wartime budget,” said Gorka. “It’s approved, meaning we’re heading into a wartime economy.

“What’s going to happen is, once all that money starts to flow to the mines, the ports and defence, there’s going to be an absolute collision of all these projects happening at the same time, and we will not have enough trades people to do it.”

Talking to CEOs

As a business developer he goes beyond staying on top of the flow of information indicating when projects will be taking off, Gorka says, he sometimes speaks to CEOs directly to discuss workforce needs.

He listed Canada Nickel, Frontier Lithium and Aecon, which is working on Ontario Power Generation’s small modular reactor program, as firms he has had direct conversations with.

“When I get in front of these guys, that’s my messaging – ‘Listen, if I were you, I would be lining up my subtrades, whether it’s an MOU or a letter of intent, so that you can line up the subs, the tradespeople, and we as contractors can prepare,’” Gorka said.

Lancaster is working widely with unions such as the Carpenters’ and LIUNA and other partners such as Bishop Ryan and the Hamilton-Halton ��������ion Association to ensure the gas techs, HVAC technicians and sheet metal trades required will be trained and available.

Gorka said he tells the project owners and GCs, when they are ready, “We’re here for you, ready, willing and able.”

But at the outset of the process, the various partners need to pique the interest of young people. The Gorkas and Bishop Ryan co-op teacher Pat Piro explained their efforts at the secondary school level start with encouraging young students to sign up for the shop and construction courses in the first place, generating interest in the trades through hands-on experiences in the classroom and through the co-op program, and eventually working with an employer to maintain the momentum towards trades certification.

The focus at Bishop Ryan Feb. 27 – billed as a Trade Day Friday – was brazing, with flames shooting from an oxy-acetylene torch as students lined up to take their turn.

“Trade Day Fridays have increased course enrolment significantly,” Piro said. “I take great satisfaction in seeing our students become excited about these career pathways and witnessing their growth as a result of the opportunities they receive.”��

Piro and Rick Gorka said creating awareness of the trades among students has come a long way, with agencies such as Skilled Trades Ontario and Skills Ontario developing multi-faceted programming such as trades fairs and social media outreach to reach students. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour has significantly boosted its support for recruitment and training as well.

But gaps remain. Piro said schools often do not have the resources onsite to fully showcase the trades in action, with funding for supplies stagnant and schools often having to rely on employers to bring in tools and materials.

“A construction shop teacher has a limited amount of time, resources and budgets to cover all the different types of construction careers,” said Piro. “So it has worked out really well to have our industry partners.”

First in line

During a presentation, Aaron Gorka told the students joining the trades is “your fastest path to $100,000 a year.”

One student who stepped up to be first in line to handle a torch, 16-year-old Chloe Costa, did not require any convincing of the benefits of a career in construction. She will follow her father and uncle into carpentry.

“It’s definitely going to be hard work, but it’s very rewarding being able to drive down the highway and point at something, be like, ‘I helped build that,’” she said.

Costa and classmates Adam Dimartino, Mason Hunks and Jett Metaxas, all 16, each said they were considering the trades in part because the work involves hands-on projects, as opposed to sitting at a desk all day.

The good wages are another attraction, they said.

Metaxas has worked alongside his father doing carpentry work and painting.

“It’s a good thing to make a lot of money doing something you like,” he said.