Industry profile: Green buildings

To increase our housing supply, reduce monthly energy bills, and meet environmental goals, Canada needs to increase its skilled workforce to construct millions of new green small and large buildings in the coming decades and retrofit approximately 11 million to greener standards.

Green buildings are energy efficient and leverage sustainable materials like mass timber to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, support monthly bill savings and affordability, mitigate strain on electricity grids, enhance health and well-being for Canadians, and promote sustainability.

Current actions

• Canada is funding training and upskilling through the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund’s Green Buildings and Retrofits priority area and through the Union Training and Innovation Program Sustainable Jobs stream. Through the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship, Canada works with provinces and territories to harmonize Red Seal trade and apprenticeship standards nationwide.
• Canada is also investing in green building supply chains, including through programs like the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, which is providing no cost home energy retrofits for lower income Canadians that save them money, as well as the Off-Site Construction Challenge, which is driving industry to design and demonstrate new ways to build more resilient and energy efficient homes.
• Build Canada Homes, Canada's new federal agency charged with building affordable housing at scale, will support builders with financing, and encourage innovative building methods. This agency will support jobs in green construction and domestic supply chains while improving the supply of durable, energy efficient homes that are affordable to live in.
• Other federal green buildings programs also support jobs in the sector, including the Canada Greener Homes Initiative, the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative, the Codes Acceleration Fund, the National Approach to Home Labelling, and the Greener Neighbourhood Pilot Program.

Under the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund, the Government of Canada funds the following projects to advance workforce development in green buildings and retrofits:

• Fostering the Competencies for a Green Buildings and Retrofits Industry in Atlantic Canada: This project offers training programs and wrap-around supports to prepare workers for energy-efficient construction and retrofitting.
• Advancing Access and Skills Training for Green Buildings and Retrofits: For this project, 15 Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery institutions (i.e. colleges, polytechnics and CEGEPs) will partner to deliver training programs across the country. Using online, hybrid and with new and existing training programs, it will focus on developing curriculum for emerging areas, to address skills gaps and to increase essential knowledge on green building and retrofits.
• Intercultural Pan-Canadian Green Buildings and Retrofits Training: Coast to Coast to Coast: This project will offer on-the-job training, micro-credentials, and wage subsidies in energy efficient building and retrofitting, covering green building concepts, energy analysis and renewable energy technologies.
• Building Green Futures in the Four Directions project: This project will provide training for Indigenous Peoples and equity-seeking groups in energy-efficient home retrofits and low-carbon construction.

Green buildings careers

Anticipated workforce opportunities

• 
  Up to
  1.5 million
  direct green building jobs by 2030

• 
  Of the 1.5 million jobs by 2030,
  49%
  are in construction and trades

• 
  Annual average job growth rate of
  10%
  from 2018 to 2030

• 
  More than
  3 times
  green buildings jobs by 2030 compared to 2018

Economic overview

• Building green from the start: To restore housing affordability, Canada will need to double its home construction by building between 430,000 and 480,000 new homes per year until 2035. Constructing green and resilient electric-powered buildings using low-carbon construction materials provides significant economic opportunity: creating jobs and lowering energy bills to achieve affordability and environmental objectives faster.
• Greening our heat: To reduce emissions from heating our homes and water, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sector will need a significant number of new skilled workers, particularly electricians and tradespeople with expertise in new technologies. The expected demand by 2032 for heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics is nearly four times the size of the 2022 workforce for this trade, with an increase of over 8,000 new jobs anticipated.

Additional information and resources

Career Resources

• How to become an energy advisor - Natural Resources Canada
• Job Bank
• Career Hub - Efficiency Canada
• Jobs in the Energy Efficiency Sector Series - Efficiency Canada - YouTube
• A Day in the Life Series - Efficiency Canada - YouTube
• Green Buildings Career Map (U.S. Resource)
• Retrofit Hub - Training and Capacity building

Other Resources

• The Canada Green Buildings Strategy: Transforming Canada’s buildings sector for a net-zero and resilient future - Natural Resources Canada
• Canada’s Green Building Engine - Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)
• 2024 Energy Efficiency Employment in Canada Report (ECO Canada)
• Assessment of Occupational and Skills Needs and Gaps for the Energy Efficient Buildings Workforce
• Accelerating to Zero: Upskilling for Engineers, Architects and Renewable Energy Specialists - Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)
• Training up for deep retrofits: Skilled trades are key to transforming Canada’s building sector – Pembina Institute
• Building Our Future: A Low-Carbon Training Strategy for the Trades - Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)
• Trading Up: How Alberta’s Trades Can Build a Zero Carbon Future - Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)
• Trading Up: Equipping Ontario Trades with the Skills of the Future - Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)