If you’re looking for an in-demand career that pays well, a skilled trade can be your ticket to a secure and rewarding future. The trades offer many awesome perks like good wages, transferable skills, and the chance to be your own boss.

Being a trades professional also gives you opportunities to advance into leadership positions such as a trade school instructor, site supervisor, project manager, and quality control inspector.

Unlike many jobs where you need a college or university degree up front, a skilled trade is something you learn through a blend of in-classroom learning and on-the-job training – called an apprenticeship. Often, you start earning money right away – meaning you probably won’t be paying off student loans for years to come. Even if you do decide to pursue another career later in life, having your trade to fall back on means you can always earn a living.

With many of the current skilled tradespeople soon to retire, there are plenty of openings for younger, highly skilled workers to take their place. Here are five popular trade jobs in Canada right now.

ELECTRICIAN

Avg. Salary in Canada: $71,092

Electricians work on installing, repairing, and maintaining electrical systems. They may work on homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, construction sites, industrial sites, or even on the power system. With booming construction taking place across many provinces, steady demand for new housing to meet population growth, lots of home renovation projects taking place, and government investments in infrastructure projects, the demand for licensed electricians is expected to be high for the next several years.

PLUMBER

Avg. Salary in Canada: $67,339

Plumbing is among the most highly paid and highly respected of all the trades because we all need clean and safe water. As a plumber your work doesn’t have to be restricted to unclogging drains and fixing toilets. There are plenty of ways to specialize in this trade, like designing systems for new businesses, working to improve municipal water systems, or even developing new plumbing technologies. Again, with Canada’s construction boom, plumbing skills are in high demand. Best of all, if you become a plumber yourself, you’ll never have to pay for plumbing services again!

RESPIRATORY THERAPIST

Avg. Salary in Canada: $78,208

We all need to breathe, and the work of a respiratory therapist is about helping people do just that. Respiratory therapists performed a key role in helping people survive and recover during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for this profession is expected to stay strong over the next few years. As a respiratory therapist, you work alongside doctors and nurses in various medical facilities, such as hospitals, sleep laboratories, and asthma clinics. Aside from being able to make a difference and often save lives, you are working in an interesting field with lots of variety and opportunities for advancement.

HVAC Technician

Avg. Salary in Canada: $62,642

HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air Conditioning. Typically, an HVAC technician looks after installing, repairing, or servicing heating and air conditioning systems in homes or businesses. As we shift to greener energy, HVAC technicians who specialize in tasks related to energy efficiency will be in particularly high demand. These tasks may include installing programmable thermostats, cleaning ventilation systems, and changing filters.

SOLAR VOLTAIC INSTALLERS

Avg. Salary in Canada: $ 64,968

With Canada’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, there is a growing need for green energy technologies. One of those technologies is solar panels, which convert sunlight into energy. Solar panels are assembled, installed, and maintained by solar photovoltaic installers – also known as solar panel installers or solar technicians. With gas prices going up and the cost of solar energy decreasing worldwide, solar technicians will be in high demand over the next decade. As a solar voltaic installer, you’re not only part of a growing and innovative field, you’re also making a meaningful contribution to the environment.

 

Note: Avg. Salaries were arrived at using ca.indeed.com/career/salaries