Skill. Value. Safety.
Building Trades of Alberta
We coordinate and promote the interests of 18 Alberta local trade unions whose 60,000 members work in the residential, commercial and industrial construction, maintenance, and fabrication industries.
Construction Trades Hub
Start Planning Your Construction Career:
- Explore the many skilled trades in Alberta.
- Sign up for FREE trade-specific learning resources, videos, tutorials and more!
- Use easy-to-access online study tools to help guide you through your apprenticeship.
- Learn how joining a union can support you in your successful career.
Path Forward
BTA’s Path Forward aims to instill hope and a sense of belonging among Alberta’s Indigenous youth.
The truth is, for many Indigenous people, desperation and despair are unfortunate realities that must be addressed. That’s why the BTA is helping Indigenous Albertans find a path forward by highlighting the rewards of a career in the unionized skilled trades and the potential for the skilled trades to lead to their success.
Indigenous Role Model of the Month
Terrance Jebb was born in Opaskwayak, Manitoba, and spent his early years living on a reserve. His youth was marked by a partying lifestyle without direction. As a member of a rock band, he enjoyed the thrill of performing, but his life was at a crossroads. Recognizing the need for change, his parents staged an intervention after a gig, and with his bags packed, Terrance moved to Calgary on January 1, 2001, to live with his brother, a member of the Calgary Police Service.
In Calgary, Terrance began working odd jobs while building a new life. He got married and started a family, but supporting them proved difficult. As a truck driver, he faced long hours, low wages, and no benefits, leaving him little time for his health or his loved ones. The struggle to balance work and family life pushed him to seek a better path, one that could offer stability and opportunity.
That turning point came when Terrance discovered Trade Winds to Success, an organization dedicated to helping Indigenous people enter the skilled trades. He enrolled in the program and successfully trained as a gas fitter and commercial plumber. Joining the UA Local 496 marked a significant shift in his life. Union work provided fair wages, benefits, overtime pay, pension security, and a sense of camaraderie and equality in the workplace.
Apprentices and Training
The BTA affiliated unions provide the best safety training and skills training in the industry. Working with our industry partners, the BTA and its locals promote careers in the building trades through visits to high schools, trade fairs, scholarships, and much more.
Build Together
Build Together is committed to highlighting rewarding careers in the unionized skilled trades to underrepresented groups, including women, Indigenous, youth, and new Canadians.
Supporting Working Parents
We are committed to removing roadblocks to success, and barriers to progress, that are sometimes overlooked in the skilled trades because of the unique needs skilled-trades workers and their families face.
The Skilled Trades Advantage
The BTA coordinates and promotes the interests of 18 Alberta local skilled trades unions, whose more than 60,000 members work in the residential, commercial and industrial construction, maintenance, and fabrication industries.
The BTA:
- Promotes a safe industry.
- Works to influence legislation, regulation, and government sentiment toward organized labor.
- Creates and participates in alliances and partnerships with owners and contractors.
- Participates in boards, associations, committees and other industry groups.
- Develops programs that support under-represented groups in the trades.
- Develops programs that highlight the value of unionized labour to create more work opportunities for our members.
BTA News
Stay in the know by browsing our recent posts below.
Building Alberta: Passenger Rail, Good Jobs, and Economic Momentum
Canada’s Building Trades Unions, Building Trades of Alberta and Friends of CABR SignMOU to Advance Calgary–Banff Passenger Rail Calgary, Alberta – Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), Building Trades of Alberta (BTA), and Friends of Calgary Airport–Banff Rail (CABR) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize collaboration in
How Alberta’s Union Training is Desired Across the World
Rob Calver, Strategic Engagement and Development Director of the BTA, and Chris Waples, Director of Education at UA Local 488, joined representatives from 12 Caribbean countries at the SAGE (Skills to Access the Green Economy) Apprenticeship Summit in Saint Lucia to share apprenticeship expertise and build networks across the
Building Trades of Alberta: Growing Apprenticeship Training and Rebuilding Civil Construction
Since its founding, the Building Trades of Alberta (BTA) has brought together union locals from across the skilled trades to achieve our common goals for our members, our industry and our province. Sometimes the road is tough. Sometimes the wheels of change are slow. But we are the Building
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