Cape Breton will soon have a trade exhibition centre.
On Thursday, the province announced $10 million for the facility and other trade programs.
Trent Soholt said the trade exhibition centre in Halifax has gotten international attention.
“We’re looking to build off the successes and the familiarity with that and bring it to the island and make it uniquely Cape Breton,” said Soholt.
Soholt said the island is becoming a construction hot spot, and the exhibition centre will help people seize those job opportunities.
He said about 14,000 teens have visited the exhibition centre in Halifax.
The funding will also go to what the province calls an “enhanced direct entry model.” That could help people get into the industry quicker by taking a 12- or 14-week program, getting onto the job as an apprentice, and learning more from there, Soholt said.
They are in the planning phase now and working with the Construction Association of Nova Scotia.
Duncan Williams, CEO, said the industry needs a massive amount of workers, and anyone entering the industry starts with an income well above minimum wage.
“There’s five-year work plans for schools, for example, there’s five-year plans for roads. So the predictability is there, which means employers are willing to invest in people, and individuals are being invested in so that they are provided with stable employment for the long term,” said Williams.
