A new, first-of-its-kind skills centre is set to open in Calgary, Alta. later this year, offering students a rare chance to step into the world of the construction trades before they graduate high school.
The Alberta Trades Discovery Centre, funded with $6 million in provincial funding over three years, will be a dedicated professional space designed to give junior high and high school students hands-on exposure to various types of construction careers in a structured, safe environment.
The centre’s board of directors includes Warren Singh, executive director of the Alberta Construction Association, Terry Parker, executive director of the Building Trades of Alberta, Joe McFayden, president of Construction Labour Relations Alberta, and Ross Undershute, president of OpenCircle.
Organizers say the goal is simple: help young people understand what a career in the trades looks like before they make major education and career decisions.
Students will be able to visit the centre and find out what it’s really like to be a bricklayer, electrician, insulator or another trade. Experienced journeypersons will be on hand to supervise.
“This is a professional environment where experiences are developed and facilitated directly by seasoned trades professionals,” says Singh, who is chair of the board. “By proving this concept in Calgary, we are building a sustainable model that honours the dignity of the trades and empowers young Albertans to build both our province and their own successful futures.”
Unlike traditional classroom-based learning, the centre will function as an interactive “try-a-trade” hub. Groups of four to six students will rotate through a series of booths, each dedicated to a specific trade.
The facility, planned for a central Calgary location in a refurbished building, is expected to open by the end of the year. Organizers are already working with school boards, educators and institutions across Alberta to integrate visits into the school experience. Outside school hours, the centre will also welcome young people who want to explore trades on evenings and weekends.
Industry leaders say the initiative addresses a longstanding gap in how trades are introduced to students.
Currently, many young people don’t turn to the trades until much later. Singh notes the average age of someone entering an apprenticeship is about 27 – far older than the industry would like.
“They take a couple of different turns and then, fortunately, they end up in construction and start making good money and realize, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s an amazing career.’ But it takes a little while.”
The centre aims to shorten that path. Students who visit the centre will gain practical experience and also find out how to get into apprenticeships, polytechnic programs or union training.
In addition to students, the centre will target recent graduates aged 18 to 25.
Even those who decide against the trades benefit, Singh adds, because it enables them to make more informed choices.
While Singh describes the labour situation as “very tight,” he notes demand varies by trade.
Some areas – particularly finishing trades – are currently slower, while others tied to industrial and institutional projects are seeing increased activity. Major proposals, including data centres and large-scale industrial-type developments, are expected to drive future demand.
“What we do hear is that there is definitely not enough supply of those who have got skills and experience to be able to move things quickly,” Singh says. “They may have to look to other places across Alberta, or they may have to look outside to Saskatchewan or maybe Ontario as well.”
With more than 250,000 Albertans already employed in construction and tens of thousands more workers needed over the next decade, industry leaders see early exposure as critical.
The idea for the centre has been years in the making, shaped by collaboration between industry and government. A key influence was the trades exhibition hall developed by the Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council in partnership with industry and the Province of Nova Scotia.
The hall features 14 interactive booths where visitors can learn about construction careers by participating in a variety of hands-on demonstrations and speaking with industry professionals.
Alberta’s premier, government officials and construction industry representatives visited the Nova Scotia centre and decided it would be a good idea to replicate.
According to Singh, the new centre is about more than workforce numbers – it’s about changing how trades are perceived.
“It kind of demystifies it,” he says, as a lot of students who have never held a tool or set foot on a construction jobsite might only hear second or third hand what it is like to work in the trades.
“They may have family and friends within the trades and within construction but may not have had a chance to swing a hammer or fix a pipe or whatever else. This is giving them that opportunity.”