TRANSFORMING FROM ON-SITE, TO OFF-SITE CONSTRUCTION
Inn on Prince, Truro NS
April 8, 2025
Construction Technologies
Symposium
The objective of this Symposium is to create awareness of the many labour challenges facing the industry, the need for a paradigm shift and the technologies that exist that can reduce the labour force and need for skilled labour.
According to the Nova Scotia’s Provincial Housing Needs Assessment Report (2022) we have a current housing shortage of 27,300 units. Forecasts suggest that we need 71,600 new housing units by 2027 and 104,800 by 2032. This means that, based on the current pace of construction of 6,080 units annually, we will have a shortfall of 41,200 units by 2027 and 44,000 by 2032.
In order to meet the demand, the industry will need to recruit 10,600 workers by 2033. The industry is expected to recruit 7,400 new workers aged 30 or younger from the local population, leaving a shortfall of 3,200 workers. This shortfall is further affected by the fact that according to BuildForce Canada, 16% of construction workers will retire by 2027.
To bring in skilled foreign workers with experience in wood frame construction, is extremely challenging, because outside Northern Europe, the USA, Japan, Australia and parts of South-East Asia wood frame construction is not common.
In essence, we need to get more work done with fewer labourers and transition from on-site, to off-site construction where we can take advantage of new construction technologies that strip the skill level from the construction process, so that the majority of the required workforce can virtually be unskilled workers.
Automation equipment and robotics supplement the existing workforce and reduce the need for a larger workforce. Other technologies such as AI, VR (Virtual Reality), drones, construction management software, ERP systems, all help to reduce labour and the required skill level. Training in these advanced construction technologies does virtually not exist in Nova Scotia.
The objective of this Symposium is to create awareness of the many labour challenges facing the industry, the need for a paradigm shift and the technologies that exist that can reduce the labour force and need for skilled labour.
