Big investments in housing, dental care, healthcare and early childhood education are great, but without enough skilled workers to actually deliver these critical services, Canadians are left wondering how these Budget announcements will translate into better, more affordable lifestyles for their families and loved ones.

The reality is that Canada already faces massive labour shortage in key industries. Retirements are outpacing graduations and unfortunately, Canadians are feeling the full force of the disparity.

By 2030, we will have two workers for every retiree; just a decade ago it was seven to one. This is unsustainable.

The labour shortages in these critical fields are well-documented by industry leaders. The Canadian Construction Association has shown that over 300,000 skilled trade vacancies will need to be filled in the next four years if the government has any hope of meeting their budget commitments. Similarly, the Canadian Dental Association is on the record indicating that over a third of dental offices need more dental assistants to meet the existing demand – demand that is only poised to grow as the feds begin to roll out the Canadian Dental Care Plan beginning next month. In healthcare, Canada is also desperate for more workers - specifically Personal Support Workers and homecare professionals. Ontario alone will need to find 33,000 nurses and PSWs in the next 3-4 years to keep up with the demand created by an aging population. In response to previous government announcements, Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and Early Childhood Assistants (ECAs) have similarly called the staffing shortage in their sector a “crisis”, with provinces reporting staffing shortfalls numbering in the thousands.

If these industries don’t have the workers they need at present, how can the government realistically expect to be successful in delivering on “fairness for every generation”? How do they expect to build nearly 4 million homes without the builders, plumbers, electricians other skilled tradespeople they need? How are they expecting to attract, train and deploy the thousands of healthcare workers and PSWs to care for aging seniors? How are they going to deliver the remaining 153,000 needed childcare spaces, if Canada doesn’t have the ECEs and ECAs to actually look after our kids?

The measures in Budget 2024 are undoubtedly necessary to solve the challenges our country is facing, but clearly the government is missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.

Here's the good news – Canada’s Regulated Career Colleges (RCCs) are perfectly poised to help address the labour shortage and deliver the workers Canada need. RCCs graduate over 150,000 ready-to-work learners into the Canadian labour force every year. We attract train and deploy Canadian talent to supplement in-demand labour markets. By partnering with industry professionals, RCCs give students the opportunity to receive direct on-the-job training, equipping them with the skills they need to start working right away.

Flexible enrollment and graduation practices also ensure that the stream of graduates entering the workforce is more consistent year-round. Students don’t have to wait until the Fall semester to enroll, and employers don’t have to wait until summertime to hire new ready-to-work graduates. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when our country needed help the most, National Association of Career College (NACC) members graduated over 18,000 PSWs in Ontario alone.

Additionally, as the shape of the Canadian economy changes and industries start to adapt to the strange new world of automation and AI, RCCs are enabling workers to upgrade their qualifications. Through condensed programs that are designed to retrain workers with the tools to meet modern demands, RCCs can be extremely responsive to the evolution of the labour force in real time.

NACC is ready to work collaboratively with the government to deliver on their core priorities. We’ve repeatedly proven our ability to work with government partners and add capacity in areas of our economy that are feeling the pinch of prolonged labour shortages. We’re already supporting institutions like CBBC – which is training ECEs across Atlantic Canada. Or like the Toronto Health School, which has educated PSWs for over 20 years, making sure seniors and Canadians living with disabilities are getting the home care they need. Or Weldtech Training – which is equipping skilled tradespeople to help build the homes that will turn the tide against the housing crisis. These are just a few of the over 580 NACC member organizations that are tangibly solving the Canadian labour crisis every single day.

Our message to the federal government is clear – NACC member institutions are the ideal partners to guarantee the timely delivery of the measures outlined in Budget 2024. We are equipped with the essential resources to fix the labour shortage in critical industries and we are ready to collaborate on key initiatives that will train a future-proof workforce.

Michael Sangster is the CEO of the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC).