About Us
The Electrical Power Systems Resource Council is an organization comprised of power generator owners, heavy industrial maintenance contractors performing work for the aforementioned utilities on its sites, and building trade unions who provide skilled trades resources. The Council’s goal is to ensure that the owner stakeholder’s refurbishments, outages, and ongoing maintenance projects are fully staffed with skilled, qualified, experienced, and professional unionized tradespeople.
Employers
Several large construction contractors are represented by EPSCA, The Electrical Power Systems Construction Association, that negotiates and administers construction trade collective agreements on their behalf.
Generators
Publicly and Privately owned generators operate the three Nuclear power stations in Ontario. Two of these stations are currently undergoing major refurbishment activities.
Unions
Boilermakers have been working in Canada since the start of the industrial revolution. Boilermakers are involved in the fabrication, installation, maintenance, repair, inspection, and operation of the equipment that keeps Canada's economic engine moving forward.
Increased Demand for Boilermakers
Over the next five years, demand for Boilermakers in the province of Ontario is forecasted to exceed current supply within the union, not only from nuclear, but also from the oil and gas industry and others. The demand for Boilermaker man hours in Canada over the next five years is approximately 15% higher than the average forecasted work hours during the 2014 – 2018 periods.
Ongoing Major Work Programs
Major work programs anticipated in Alberta and British Columbia over the next five years within heavy industrial industries will see supply within those provinces remain localized. An increase in demand within Ontario is tied to a high volume of work, not only in nuclear, but also in the oil and gas sector in Sarnia, pulp and paper processing in Espanola and in northern mining operations. As a result, across Ontario, unprecedented demand will cause the supply of Boilermaker travelers from across the province and country who could normally support work in nuclear to be in short supply.
Employment Opportunities
There are exciting opportunities to help reduce the carbon footprint by being involved in these nuclear refurbishments at both Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation.
Ensuring Competent, Capable and Qualified trades people work on the nuclear reactors is an important aspect of the hiring process.
