A Case for Hiring Youth

A Case for Hiring Youth:

The Building Futures for Youth Solution

Executive Summary Since an increasing amount of our province’s aging workforce is nearing retirement, the greatest threat to the Construction Industry is an impending labour shortage. There are an insufficient number of trained workers ready to replace the senior labour force as they exit, and many of the younger generation who are trained are electing to leave the province for various reasons. In order to ensure an acceptable level of skilled trades workers in the next decade, employers need to focus on recruiting and retaining more young apprentices now.

Building Futures for Youth is a program which connects high school students to opportunities for summer employment in the construction Industry. The preparation and training we provide to students, as well as connecting them with local employers who hire them for work placements, is most certainly a benefit for the young people enrolled in our program; however the benefits of our program as they relate directly to the employer are of equal importance. The commitment we ask of a Host Employer is an entry level position for a limited time frame. Some companies may view paying wages for a position they don’t need filled, or the time taken from more experienced workers who need to become teachers, is only a gain to the student. However, those expenses should be viewed as part of a Succession Plan; the immediate costs of supporting a student during a summer placement should be considered as an investment in a company’s own future.

Problem Over the past decade, the Construction Industry has been experiencing significant growth country-wide. While this is a statistical fact, there is still fluxuation year to year for various sectors across the province, and some employers may see a hard summer or a drop in current projects as a reason not to hire new workers. It’s difficult to make current staffing decisions based on future predictions; even knowing that large projects such as the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy are promising thousands of jobs over the coming years, smaller companies (particularly in rural areas) need to make decisions that reflect their current bottom line.

However, there is a significant problem looming that will affect the bottom line of every company province wide; our labour force is aging. Nova Scotia has the highest population of people aged 65 and over, and the lowest percentage of those aged 15 and under. We are second only to Newfoundland and Labrador of the oldest age profile of any province where more workers are retiring than entering the workforce. This is not a predication open to interpretation; in less than 20 years it is expected that 40% of Nova Scotia’s population will be over 55 years old.

1 It is expected that a quarter of Nova Scotia’s workforce will retire within the next decade. The Baby Boomer generation has already begun retiring (with the largest portion of that currently in their fifties), and declining birth rates mean that there are fewer potential replacements. It is also a fact that the previous decade has seen a significant amount of young people migrate away from Nova Scotia, particularly those seeking employment in trades. As the Construction Industry continues to grow, a labour shortage is imminent.

There are countless academic reports that are in agreement that the age of our population is going to have a significant effect on our economy, and that addressing the problem now is the only solution. “The core message is this: Nova Scotia is today in the early stages of what may be a prolonged period of accelerating population loss and economic decline. These negative prospects are not, however, inevitable or irreversible.”1 Concerned Leaders from across the province (from Government, Industry,

1 Page 3, Now or Never: an Urgent call to Action for Nova Scotians, from the Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy, 2014

2 Education, Unions, First Nations, and Community organizations) have been working together since 2012 on a Workforce of the Future Table to form a strategy for this problem. Two of the five priority areas identified are Employer Engagement in Apprenticeship, and Youth Retention. “Sector Councils have repeatedly raised the issue of non-replacement of older, experienced workers retiring over the next decade (both with and without trade certifications). It is widely acknowledged that there is a large scale need for the transfer of knowledge between older and younger workers to recognize and support skill development in the trades”.2

In 2012, youth unemployment rates across the country were at nearly 15%. “Young people are facing longer periods of joblessness during a critical phase in their employment careers and this may affect them for the rest of their lives”.3 Even though the construction Industry is a leader in employment growth and higher wages, young people are finding it difficult to enter the Industry. The current numbers of youth in apprenticeship are insufficient to replace the skilled workers that will soon be leaving.

Solution While it is recognized that employers are asked to make a significant investment of time and money when hiring a younger, untrained worker, it is in fact an investment in their own business. Hiring youth now, while there are still skilled workers employed to pass along their knowledge and ensure proper training, is a more efficient method of educating the workers of tomorrow than waiting until the labour shortage is at its peak. The immediate costs of hiring inexperienced youth should not be considered only in terms of fiscal year wages, but viewed as an investment in the future of the company (as well as the provincial economy).

This does not mean that the only option is to hire from a completely unprepared generation. Building Futures for Youth (BFY) is a program in partnership with the Construction Association of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Department of Education, the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, the Nova Scotia Construction Safety Association, and the Nova Scotia Road Builders Association. It began in 2008, and has grown into a successful model for other initiatives. In cooperation with school boards across the province, BFY meets with students who are considering trades careers. We explain the benefits of our program, in exchange for the realistic expectations of direct entry work. Our application process requires several references and follows a strict deadline; no late applications are considered. Each applicant is interviewed in person.

Successful candidates are then offered soft skill workshops, and are work place ready with hardhats, safety boots, vests, gloves and glasses. Our Youth are required to have their WHMIS, OH&S, and First Aid/CPR before spending two weeks at NSCC for a rigorous safety course. They come away with a Construction Safety Awareness Certificate that covers Scaffolding, Electricity, Confined Spaces, Traffic

2 Page 171, ibid

3 Labour Market Bulletin (2012) from the Government of Canada, http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/aboriginal/bulletins/fall2012.s

3 Control, Tool Box ID, Hand & Power Tools, Documents/Drawings, Trades Match, Workplace Expectations, and more. They are also awarded NSCSA certification in Scaffolding Awareness and Fall Arrest Worker. It is also important to note that our students will be registered as Construction Trades Pre-Apprentices and be issued an ID card from Nova Scotia Apprenticeship; our apprentices do not affect the journeyperson ratio at your company.

Building Futures for Youth essentially pre-screens the top candidates from our high schools and better prepares them for a direct entry position in construction. Not only do we save you time arranging interviews, but it is our expectation that the quality applicants have signed on with us to secure their employment. Supporting our program ensures you are connected to the best that the next generation of workers has to offer. To date, the program has connected 578 students to nearly 400 different employers across the province. Of those students, 76% have worked in the construction industry in some capacity since those work placements took place (nearly all of them remaining in the province). Nearly half of our students claim to be registered apprentices, and are still connected with their BFY Host Employer.4

Our program culminates in a seven week summer placement, which means a limited commitment of resources from the company. Through our preparation process, youth in our program know that they are subject to the same rules that apply to anyone else under your employ. Other than communication with co-op teachers and a student evaluation, your involvement with our program does not require you offer special treatment that would not be given to other staff; you are under no requirement to keep a student the full seven weeks if their performance is not satisfactory. However it is our hope that each placement is a positive experience, and the opportunities for the employer are just as beneficial. By giving young people a chance to experience the construction industry first hand, we can help shape their future career goals and start them on a stronger path to apprenticeship; in turn, an employer willing to take on workers at the very beginning of their career path mean that training opportunities are ideal, and relationships can form early. The Building Futures for Youth program is a benefit for the students involved, but it is essentially an answer to the biggest problem facing Industry.

Conclusion Building Futures for Youth is more than a youth program; it is a key strategy in the Succession Plan for our Industry. Preparing for the future is a responsibility of every organization, and it does not only apply to the position of a CEO, or ownership of a family business through the generations. Succession planning is by definition the development of new leaders to replace old, and in the case of an impending labour shortage, that becomes quite literal. As the older generation retires and leaves their positions, there must be a plan in place to fill those roles.

4 Based on 2015 Building Futures for Youth Alumni Follow-up Survey

4 When referring to skilled trades roles, it takes time to train and develop these replacements. Considering it takes years to reach certified levels for many of these positions, replacement planning must encompass those time frames. In the past, companies may have had a large pool of candidates with significant training from which to choose when they needed additional staffing. The number of replacements needed over the course of a year or two may have been minimal. However, with the combination of increased retirements and a smaller pool of trained workers from which to hire, waiting until the moment that role needs to be replaced could be a very risky move for many companies.

The time to implement a Succession Plan is now. Companies need not look to the future only to survive, but to be able to thrive with new opportunities. By recruiting and developing their future workforce before they need them, leaders have the time to properly pass on their skills and knowledge before exiting their current roles. Similar to the sports concept where it originated, the term “bench strength” is quite appropriate in the business world; there should always be a ready successor available for any vacancy that would hinder the company. The time is approaching when the availability of ready replacements will not meet the needs of Industry. Considering the timelines required preparing those replacements for future needs, and the impending threat of multiple vacancies, an effective plan cannot begin when key roles are already vacant.

Hosting a student through Building Futures for Youth is an excellent way to begin planning for the future of your company. Even though adding staff is certainly a cost, entry level wages for a temporary position is a reasonable investment for any company when it is viewed as investing in their own interests. By employing high school students, at a time when they are making decisions about their future careers, each company has the opportunity to make an impression – not only about a specific trade, but how they would be as a long term employer. Supply and demand dictates that as the labour pool shrinks and the vacancies increase, job postings will be less about choosing who to hire, and more about offering incentives to woo available candidates. There is no doubt that supporting a young student in this early work experience is expenditure, but it must be recognized that it can also be a great value.