Canada’s skilled trades shortage will be the focus of a national apprenticeship conference in Whistler from October 4 to 6.
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum will bring employers, educators, labour groups, governments and apprentices together for its 2026 National Apprenticeship Conference, held under the theme “Future Built: Apprenticeship for a Changing Canada.”
The issue is especially pressing for automotive repair.
Federal Job Bank data show automotive service technicians face a moderate risk of labour shortage across Canada through 2033. About 140,400 people worked in the occupation in 2023 and 29% were aged 50 or older.
The collision repair workforce is smaller and aging as well. About 29,700 people worked as auto body collision, refinishing and glass technicians and damage repair estimators in 2023, with 31% aged 50 or older.
Industry research suggests shops are already feeling the shortage. AIA Canada reported this year that 65% of mechanical and collision shops had experienced increased technician turnover, while vacancies across the sector doubled between 2021 and 2022. More than half of workers aged 18 to 24 who left the sector moved to jobs in other industries.
AIA Canada has also warned that Canada could be short roughly 30,000 automotive technicians within the next five or six years.
That makes apprenticeship completion a major concern.
Federal figures show more than 100,000 Canadians registered as apprentices in 2024, but only about 34,000 completed an apprenticeship that year. Ottawa estimates Canada could face a shortage of more than 20,000 skilled trades workers each year if current trends continue.
The Whistler conference will focus on how to bring more people into the trades and, just as importantly, how to keep them there.
Sessions will cover apprentice recruitment, mentorship, workplace culture, training, mental health and ways to help apprentices reach certification.
SAIT will discuss ways to give young people earlier hands-on exposure to skilled trades careers. Vancouver School Board Career Programs will look at moving students from high school into apprenticeships.
Other sessions will examine how employers can improve retention. The FORGE Construction Foundation will focus on mentorship and workplace support, while North Island College will discuss mental health and wellness in trades training.
NAIT will look at how employers can create workplaces that are better prepared to train apprentices. Saskatchewan Polytechnic will discuss online learning and tutoring aimed at helping apprentices reach Red Seal certification.
The program will also include a session involving BCIT, SAIT, Douglas College and Switzerland’s GBS St. Gallen on lessons from apprenticeship systems in Canada and Switzerland.
CAF-FCA’s Youth Apprenticeship Council will also take part. Its current research includes auto body collision technicians and automotive service technicians and is looking at what helps apprentices complete their training and what causes them to leave.
The National Apprenticeship Conference will take place at the Whistler Conference Centre from October 4 to 6.
