Renovator offers cash reward to find workers

September 18, 2018

“We are looking for one Red Seal carpenter and one site supervisor with extensive residential experience. We are offering a $500 reward for each successful hire,” said Metro Vancouver-based TQ Construction in a mass email to media and other contacts.
The cash incentive is open to all clients, sub-trades, suppliers and even employees of TQ Construction—a 33-year-old company that has won local, provincial and national awards for its home renovations.
“We offer competitive wages, paid vacation and opportunities for training, promotion and performance bonuses,” the company stated.
TQ is among Vancouver-area residential contractors facing a skilled labour shortage, according to the BC Construction Association (BCCA), which warns the province is facing a shortfall of at least 15,000 workers.
“Many contractors are struggling to find the workers they need,” said a BCCA spokesman said. “[Metro] Vancouver has challenges around sourcing local workers. The cost of living – housing in particular – is too high for the workers to live in Vancouver, and the commute from more affordable outlying areas is brutal.”
A 2016 BCCA survey found that 94 per cent of B.C. construction companies are trying to hire more workers and that the average annual salary for a B.C. construction worker is $56,170.
That wage rate is rising in Metro Vancouver, according to Bob de Wit, executive president of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association. He adds that developers are competing fiercely for skilled labour—especially project managers and qualified framers.