Labour Day is about work 鈥� a holiday that honours workers and also the struggles over the years for equitable, dignified, and safe workplaces.
Looking forward to the future of the B.C. work force as this Labour Day approaches, 91原创 MLA Andrew Mercier sees a workforce defined by a major generational change and a need for more skills.
Mercier is currently the Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation, and has previously served as Minister of State for Workforce Development and Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Training.
Before jumping into elected politics, he was the executive director of the BC Building Trades Council.
From those positions, he's watched as the province deals with big changes that are already underway, and yet to come.
"We talk a lot about a million job openings over the next 10 years," Mercier said.
While many of those will come from economic growth, a full 60 per cent will be necessitated by retirements. The Baby Boomer generation is largely leaving the workforce, and that means a lot more positions are opening up.
Another major issue 鈥� about 80 per cent of those projected new jobs will require at least some post-secondary training.
That doesn't mean every job will require a bachelor's degree from a university.
Many are in the skilled trades, and the B.C. government has been trying to support training for those trades, as well as promoting their prestige to attract more young people to fields involving tools and technology.
Many are already taking up the new jobs.
"Right now, we have a record number of apprentices in British Columbia," said Mercier.
The nature of the trades has changed as well, Mercier said. He pointed to apprentices working in shops like Precision Auto in 91原创, owned by Scott Waddle. The shop has focused on training and equipping to deal with electric vehicles, and was getting ready years ago for the shift that has now seen about a quarter of all new vehicle registrations in B.C. be for EVs or plug-in hybrids.
"They're much more digitally focused now," Mercier said of the trades.
Other workers, even outside of technical careers, are still needed and are working to secure their rights.
In 2023, B.C. saw the highest number of workers in 25 years apply for certification as unions, with 323 applications covering more than 22,000 workers.
It's a big jump from the 137 applications in 2019 or the 130 in 2020.
In 2022, the provincial government made it easier for workers to join a union by bringing in single-step certification. If 55 per cent of all workers in a workplace sign a union card, the certification is almost automatic.
That has been a factor in increasing unionizations that has seen everything from a 91原创 Starbucks to 91原创 and Abbotsford mushroom farms successfully unionizing in recent years.
With Labour Day fast approaching, Mercier linked political struggles for workers to gains like compensation programs like WorkSafe BC, or the right to join a union.
"It's a very important day to reflect on the hard-earned rights that have been won for working families in British Columbia," he said.
