Toronto, Ontario — The positions once occupied by Canada’s retiring skilled trades workforce are proving difficult to fill, and according to some newly released data from the federal government, no two regions compensate their tradespeople quite the same.
Median wages for newly certified journeypersons are down 5.2 percent nationwide from 2019 to 2020, with motor vehicle body repairers experiencing a small, but comparatively positive uptick of 8.3 percent in median income growth two years after certification.
Auto body technicians make about $48,480 immediately upon certification, versus about $52,480 two years after certification, according to data collected by Statistics Canada from 2008 to 2020.
Despite displaying a mild amount of income growth over the years, especially as compared to service-based trades that declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, like cooks, hairstylists and estheticians, income in the collision sector has yet to see the same spike as its automotive counterparts.
Automotive service technicians, truck and transport mechanics and agricultural equipment technicians experience some of the highest rates of income growth post-certification, recording growth of 20.9, 19.6 and 23.1 percent respectively.
The data found that a truck and transport mechanic can expect to make around $72,250 annually, only two years after certification.
On a regional basis, Saskatchewan boasts the highest percentage of income growth nationwide for auto body technicians, with an entry-level wage of $47,260 and the potential to grow by 24 percent to $58,620 within two years.
Manitoba recorded a healthy median average income of $55,790 for new auto body technicians, slightly higher than the provincial average income for new tradespeople of $51,900. Paired with this, technicians in the province also see an average 12.9 percent wage increase two years after certification.
Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the most significant decline in general trades income, seeing its year-over-year median income for newly certified tradespeople drop 16.3 percent to $45,640.
Newly certified auto body technicians in the Atlantic Region make slightly less than the median average income for all trades, at $43,830, but receive modest income growth of 7.4 percent over two years.
British Columbia’s auto body professionals are heading into tougher times, as the current highest paid entry-level journeypersons, with a median starting wage of $60,950, are in the midst of a slipping rate of post-certification income of -2.7 percent.
Click here for an infographic displaying a regional breakdown of median journeyperson income in 2020.
