A flexible, robust new training program aims to fill Alberta’s insulator shortage, unlocking career opportunities and reshaping the industry’s future.
By Natalie Bruckner
The shortage of skilled labour in Alberta’s mechanical insulation industry has reached a critical stage. With a need for around 800 to 1,000 qualified insulators in the next three years in Alberta alone, the industry is scrambling to meet demand. In 2024, 500 calls for qualified insulators—both journeypersons and apprentices—were made within the Western Canadian Union labour market, but only 40 percent of those positions were filled.
For years, Alberta’s mechanical insulation industry has struggled to maintain a steady workforce—an issue faced across all Canadian provinces. But in December 2024, a potential turning point emerged.
Tristan Bertram, director of industry affairs at TIAC, learned of an opportunity that could reshape the industry: the newly introduced Alberta Industry Skills (AIS) grant.
Launched by Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Economy, and Trade, this initiative aims to help key industries address skill shortages through training opportunities, providing industry-wide benefits to tackle current and emerging workforce challenges. But there was a catch—it came with a tight deadline.
“I saw the AIS grant and knew this was an opportunity we couldn’t miss,” Bertram recalls. “The deadline was fast approaching in January, so I pulled together our board and industry leaders. Everyone agreed—we had to make this happen.”
With full support from the TIAC and TIAA boards, the team led by Bertram worked tirelessly to submit a grant application for a foundational skills training program in the heat and frost insulator trade—a specialized field critical to energy efficiency and carbon emissions reduction. This initiative would directly support the transition to a clean economy without compromising industry needs.
It was agreed that Thomas Kanata, a TIAA contractor member, would serve as the primary training provider, given their expertise and capacity to train 300 participants within the project timeline. “We’ve done similar training before, so we knew this program would likely mirror past ones in many ways. We also knew the funding would help us create an environment where new workers can develop basic skills. After that, the Government of Alberta’s apprenticeship program, offered through SAIT and NAIT, would take over,” explains Kyle Sippola, operations manager at Thomas Kanata.
The free training program for Albertans would combine in-person instruction with online, self-guided learning to equip participants with the necessary skills for long-term employment in the mechanical insulation industry. It would target talent pools including, but not limited to, newcomers to Alberta, Indigenous communities, and individuals without post-secondary education—groups that represent an underutilized workforce with the potential to meet industry demands while accessing sustainable, well-paying careers.
Heat and Frost Insulators’ Union Local 110 currently offers pre-apprenticeship training, which, since 2015 has successfully trained 284 individuals, surpassing first-year apprentice standards.
“The quality of their program is excellent,” Bertram says. “We are adding a shorter, less in-depth option to the training landscape that is accessible to people currently working or those living in remote areas. Our program also includes a marketing and promotion component that will help us attract people to our industry, get their foot in the door, and support their long-term apprenticeship journey once they are already working in the industry.
Once complete, participants can pursue one-year training through Local 110 or a four-year apprenticeship training through NAIT or SAIT.
“The heat and frost insulator trade is a four-year apprenticeship program leading to journeyperson certification,” Bertram says. “We wanted to create an entry point for Albertans and set them on the path to becoming certified tradespeople.”
Their dedication and hard work paid off when, just a month after submitting the application, they received the green light. TIAC was awarded nearly $1.5 million in grant funding—marking the first government support the organization has received in more than two decades.
“This grant is huge for us. It’s not just about the financial support—it’s about recognition. It’s the first time since 1999 that we’ve received government funding. It’s also industry-led training rather than the traditional graduate high school and trade school model. That’s a big shift, and it is allowing TIAC to participate in a way we couldn’t before,” says Bertram.
With the funding now secured, TIAC and TIAA is moving full steam ahead, ready to make a lasting impact on Alberta’s workforce. “The contract is signed, and as soon as funding arrives—likely by May—we’ll begin planning, developing the curriculum and setting up the online learning platform. The goal is to launch both the online and in-person components within 13 months,” says Bertram.
The curriculum will be divided into two key components: the aforementioned online learning and in-person, cohort-based training. The online portion will cover the fundamentals of mechanical insulation and employability skills. Developed TIAA, TIAC and TIAC’s Training Providers Committee, the content will be shaped with input from industry stakeholders across Alberta.
The in-person component will focus on hands-on experience, covering mechanical insulation products, typical job duties and core trade-specific skills. To ensure wider accessibility, a train-the-trainer approach will be implemented, allowing additional employers to be trained by TIAC and TIAA, with job placements facilitated by TIAA to ensure transparency and fairness.
Sippola adds that the program will offer more than what most people might expect. “While insulator is considered one trade, and the expectation is that insulators can work in both industrial and commercial insulation, these sectors are quite distinct. We want to make the program appealing by ensuring people have options. They could work for a commercial insulation company, which often offers a 40-hour, Monday-to-Friday schedule—ideal for someone who prefers to be home every night. On the other hand, industrial insulation typically involves shift work at remote sites, like 10 days on, 4 days off, or even camp jobs. Everyone has different needs, so we want to make sure the program can target both sectors and benefit all contractors involved.”
While Thomas Kanata has offered to provide the training, the goal is to make these trained individuals available to the broader industry in Alberta.
Not only is the grant a win for TIAA and Alberta, but the industry in general. Being awarded the grant serves as a model for future initiatives in other provinces. “It’s a niche trade that doesn’t have the same recognition as other trades, but being awarded the grant could pave the way for similar initiatives across Canada. TIAC’s ultimate goal is to take this program and adapt it for each province, in partnership with the local provincial association, creating a nationwide effort to address the skilled labour shortage and help workers build a career in a trade that’s more important than ever,” says Bertram.
For Bertram and the team, this is more than just a training program—it’s an investment in the future of Alberta’s workforce and the insulation industry. “Our primary goal is to address the skilled labour shortage by attracting people to the trade. This program not only provides foundational training but also connects participants with member companies to secure employment.” Sippola adds, “Hopefully, this will lead to an influx of apprentices who want to continue in the trade and become fully certified mechanical insulators,” he says.
It’s an ambitious goal, but with the support of industry leaders and the government, it’s one that Bertram and Sippola are confident will be achieved. ▪
