EDMONTON — Alberta's growing pipeline of major economic investments could face a significant obstacle: Alberta doesn't have enough skilled tradespeople to build them.From the Pacific Link pipeline to the Yellowhead Mainline natural gas pipeline expansion and Meta Platforms' proposed data centre, the UCP government proudly touted billions of dollars in new investments throughout the summer. However, Alberta's Advanced Education Minister says the province is not prepared to meet the workforce demands those projects will create."When you look at all the projects that are supposed to be coming here to Alberta over the next several years, today we don't even come close to having enough skilled trades to meet that demand," said Advanced Education Minister Myles McDougall at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta convention on Wednesday..BuildForce Canada estimated in July that Alberta will need to recruit 48,800 additional construction workers by 2035, largely to replace retiring workers.Alberta Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow said ensuring the province has enough skilled workers to meet the demand created by its growing economy is a priority, although he doesn't consider the shortage a major concern."I don't know if I'd say I'm concerned so much as it's a byproduct in being a victim of your own success," Schow said Wednesday.The jobs minister pointed to De Havilland's May announcement of a proposed 1,500-acre development west of Strathmore, which will include an aircraft assembly plant, runway and parts plant, and is expected to create 3,000 permanent trades jobs."It's great news for the province," Schow said. "Great news for Canada. It gets our product into foreign markets and also across the country. But you also need skilled labour and things.".The UCP's strategy to address the growing demand includes working with industry executives to understand their workforce requirements, adapting post-secondary curricula and using interprovincial and international migration to fill gaps where necessary.Budget 2026 commits $148 million in public spending over three years to increase post-secondary targeted enrollment programs and create more seats in priority industries. The funding comes in addition to a $384-million government announcement in May to build an Advanced Skills Centre at NAIT.McDougall said the government and post-secondary institutions can expand training capacity, but Albertans also need to take advantage of the opportunities."We're aware of that, but there's also a challenge of getting young people involved and interested in the skilled trades, which is a great opportunity for them: well-paid, good, well-paying jobs that don't require you to have 10s of 1000s of dollars of student debt to get to be qualified," McDougall said..However, Alberta NDP Jobs and Economy critic Rhiannon Hoyle said the government has failed to adequately address the workforce shortage, arguing the problem has been growing for years."The UCP has been behind since 2019," Hoyle said. "We are in 2026 right now. So not only do we have to catch up, we are not even equal for the people who are getting into skilled labour. We have that much retiring, so we're behind on what we need."However, Schow rejected the suggestion that he is concerned. Pointing instead to the government's spending in training and workforce development."So, to me, am I concerned? No," Schow said. "Because you have a great minister of advanced education, and we're focused on developing those sectors. But it's always top of mind."
