BC will lose close to 19,000 jobs due to a shortage of qualified persons, according to a number of recent reports. The BC Labour Market Profile, BC Stats, and Statistics Canada confirm that the number of jobs that require post-secondary credentials will exceed the amount of BC graduates between 2016 and 2020.
According to Gloria Darroch, director of cooperative education at Camosun College, this job deficit has been expected for years and the province is only now a short distance away from the hurdle.
“This problem has been going on for several years,” says Darroch. “We first noticed the problem when we saw that they stopped hiring co-op students.”
Of theĘunfilled jobs, 8,400 will require aĘuniversity degree, 8,100 a collegeĘcredential, and 2,300 trades training. Educational institutions are well aware of this looming crisis and some have taken proactive measures to address the problem.
“The situation is no worse than it was,” says Darroch, “but it’s kind of depressing because it has been going on for a while and we know we have a big skill shortage coming as baby boomers start retiring.”
Camosun has received $35 million from the federal and provincial governments to build a new trades education and innovation building at the Interurban campus in response to the growing demand for skilled labor and technical workers.
On January 29, college president Kathryn Laurin addressed the Victoria Chamber of Commerce and spoke of Camosun as a key economic driver for business.
Presently, skills shortages can be found in shipbuilding, construction, mechanical trades, healthcare, and technology. Camosun has committed itself to tackling this job crisis by producing more skilled individuals to fill the foreseeable empty positions.
“As far as trades go, I think people are going into more technical careers,” says second-year psychology student Thomas Holland. “It would be bad for the economy at first, but if people want a job in trades they will always be able to re-locate somewhere else, just like how they go to Alberta”
Graduating finance student Peter Foucher is unconvinced by the government reports.
“I almost find it difficult to believe that we have a shortage of qualified people,” says Foucher, “especially given that we have so many students graduating from universities and colleges, even in Victoria alone.”