Canadian pubcaster TVOKids is working on a new unscripted series called Trading Skills (26 x 11 minutes) that shines a spotlight on the country’s skilled tradespeople. 

The channel greenlit this live-action show for six- to nine-year-olds from Toronto’s Riverbank Pictures (How Do You Feel?, When I Grow Up!), and producer Francis Mitchell says its goal is to explore trade professions in three categories: traditional (plumbers and electricians), new tech (electronic service technicians) and service (hairstylists and chefs).

Riverbank will start production on the project this spring, aiming for a fall launch. 

TVOKids ordered Trading Skills in order to introduce kids to career paths they’re often not exposed to, says commissioning editor Kirsten Hurd. And she adds that there’s a real need for this kind of programming right now because Canada is experiencing a growing labor shortage. In 2022, the Canadian federal government predicted that around 700,000 of the country’s skilled trade workers would retire by 2028, which could leave a lot of important jobs empty. 

“We hope that Trading Skills opens many eyes to the skilled trades, some of which require years of training and apprenticeship experience,” says Hurd. “Many of these pathways can be lucrative career choices.” 

There’s also an ongoing movement in Ontario, the region that TVOKids operates in, to get kids interested in trades. In August, the provincial government expanded its program of career fairs—which are geared towards kids ages 12 and up—from five cities to 10. The government’s estimation is that one in five new job openings in the province will be in skilled trades by 2025, and its goal is to get more than 100,000 people into these jobs this decade.