A New Prong in the Solution for the Skilled Trades Crisis

Jun 26
2 min read

We’ve long heard the stats about Canada’s skilled trades crisis. It isn’t new.

250k baby boomers retiring; not enough skilled tradespeople to build and maintain Canada’s critical infrastructure.

This is a big problem (hence ‘crisis’).

And how do we solve it, we’ve asked for years? The answer is and has always been a multi-pronged approach. We’ve tried recruitment campaigns, high school job fairs, career days. We’ve tried keeping employees by focusing on simply the salary being paid. Still, apprenticeship completion rates barely scrape the low 20s and in 2024, more construction workers left the industry than joined.

But, here’s a new prong that isn’t being considered: embracing neurodiversity.

As you’ve heard me say, according to the National Federation of Builders in the UK, 25% of skilled tradespeople are neurodivergent. Which means, 1 in 4 people think differently, see things differently, and experience life differently.

Having neurodivergent people on your team is a gift, not something to be seen as a burden to manage.

So, I ask: why aren’t we focusing on doing better for that 25%? If we can better support an entire quarter of the construction workforce and empower them to not just survive, but thrive, we can move the needle towards high retention, low turnover, and increased productivity rates.

Additionally, increased visibility of neurodivergence awareness, acceptance, and support within the construction industry would also act as an additional recruitment tool for the skilled trades.

And the thing is… it doesn’t have to be insanely expensive or complicated. It just has to be: