Skilled worker shortage impacting N.S. housing crisis: construction association

Duncan Williams, president of the Construction Association of Nova Scotia, says a shortage of skilled workers is affecting housing.

Nova Scotia, like most provinces, is looking at ways to tackle the ongoing housing crisis, but a construction group says a lack of skilled workers is a major hurdle that needs to be addressed.

Duncan Williams, president of the Construction Association of Nova Scotia, said recent data shows there is a shortage of 15,000 skilled workers in the next decade.

“Some of those trades right now are critical,” he told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis on Tuesday. “We’re not seeing that ease for at least three-to-four years and that is going to have a direct impact on our ability to build those houses, schools, hospitals.”

Williams is pleased the topic of construction has received so much attention on the federal election campaign trail this month, and he’s hopeful it continues after the winning party forms government.

“This is the first time we’ve seen in my tenure in 14 years that construction and trades have really topped the agenda,” he said. “It is of critical importance to us that political parties maintain focus and act on it after April 28.”

Williams called the federal government’s decision to cut immigration levels last year “irresponsible at best.”

“What we would have preferred was working with industry to say what is working and how are you ensuring the people you bring in are the people we need?” he said.

“If you have the work ethic and a love for working with your hands and mind, the trades is a logical option. It’s a proven model that works very well.”

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