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December 14, 2005 – First-ever website offers real-time info on construction careers across Canada
November 30, 2005 – Opportunities for Aboriginal workers in the Construction Industry: Study
November 1, 2005 – New study could help build crucial labour source: mobile construction workers
October 24, 2005 – Foreign-trained workers “fall through cracks”: new study
June 21, 2005 – Construction industry welcomes long-awaited tool to project labour requirements
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First-ever website offers real-time info on construction careers across Canada |
December 14, 2005
OTTAWA – An industry-developed website about careers in construction has already drawn thousands of visitors, mostly youth and educators looking to find out what the work is like and where the jobs are.
The new site is aimed at providing students and counselors with information on construction careers, with the goal of attracting a new labour pool to the construction industry to meet replacement demand brought on by a retiring workforce.
“It’s the first site in Canada to offer coast to coast information about real career prospects in construction,” says Rosemary Sparks, Director of Projects at the Construction Sector Council, which built www.careersinconstruction.ca with direction from employer and labour groups, and the support of the education community, and governments.
The new career portal is the first to offer real-time information about job prospects in every Canadian province. “If a student in British Columbia, for example, wants to find out about career opportunities at home or across Canada over the next few years, the information is at their fingertips,” says Sparks.
www.careersinconstruction.ca also features job descriptions, virtual tours of construction sites, video clips and interviews with workers on the job, and information on education and training requirements.
“Where the jobs are, what the work is like, how to choose a career path, enter an apprenticeship program, earn while you learn – it’s all there,” she says. “And if it isn’t, there are more than 600 links to other resources.”
Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program. It is one of several CSC initiatives related to the supply of labour in the construction industry in Canada.
The CSC is a not–for–profit, independent labour/business partnership organization established in 2001, to address the current and future human resource needs of the industry.
More Information:
Rosemary Sparks
Director of Projects
613-569-5552
sparks@csc-ca.org
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Opportunities for Aboriginal workers in the Construction Industry: Study |
November 30, 2005
OTTAWA – With more than 62,000 construction workers retiring within the next 10 years, a new study points to a major opportunity for Aboriginal youth.
That’s according to A Study of Aboriginal Participation in the Construction Industry commissioned by the Construction Sector Council (CSC) and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) as part of an effort to increase Aboriginal participation in the construction workforce.
The report is the first to examine in depth what is working and what is not when it comes to linking Aboriginal youth to construction employment.
“Aboriginal youth were identified in earlier CSC research as an important untapped labour source for the industry,” says CSC Executive Director George Gritziotis, “and now this study is telling us that there are lots of opportunities to connect them with construction work. It’s a perfect fit, and one we intend to ensure is mutually beneficial.”
“There’s a big need to need to replenish the construction workforce in the years ahead, and opening the doors of a vital industry to Aboriginal youth is good for Canada,” he says.
Kelly Lendsay, President and CEO of the AHRDCC, says “Aboriginal workers are ready to move through those doors and this report is a giant step in the right direction.”
“This research provides both supply and demand side organizations with the knowledge and information needed to help create meaningful training and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people. Based on the projected construction job growth, 7464 Aboriginal construction workers will be needed in the next 10 years.”
The report provides an overview of services and infrastructures now in place and recommends how they can be improved upon. For example, it calls for an expanded role for key players, such as Aboriginal communities and delivery organizations, which play a lead role in recruitment, as well as education and training centres, governments, labour groups and employers.
It also calls on the two sector councils to expand on their successful partnership, by continuing to work together on initiatives such as the ironworker Aboriginal career awareness project, which is linking Aboriginal people with careers in ironworker.
Funding for A Study of Aboriginal Participation in the Construction Workforce was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program. It is one of several studies commissioned by the CSC on issues related to the supply of labour in the construction industry.
For more information:
Rosemary Sparks
Director of Projects, CSC
(905) 852-9186
sparks@csc-ca.org
Sandra Stevens
Manager, AHRDCC National Trades Project
(306) 956-5360
Sandra.stevens@ahrdcc.com
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New study could help build crucial labour source: mobile construction workers |
November 1, 2005
OTTAWA – The financial and social costs associated with working away from home are shackling an important source of labour in Canada’s construction industry, according to new report published by the Construction Sector Council (CSC).
“Mobile workers are generally a dissatisfied group,” says Bob Blakely, CSC labour co-chair and director of Canadian Affairs for the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, “and the construction industry, particularly the industrial sector, could suffer because of it.”
Working Mobile: A Study of Labour Mobility in Canada’s Industrial Construction Sector sheds light on why it is increasingly difficult to attract workers who are willing to follow the work from region to region.
“As the construction industry seeks ways to address the increasing demand for workers on large projects in remote locations,” says Blakely, “the results of this research provide timely and valuable insights that could help to sustain and build upon this crucial labour source.”
Brad Anderson, of the Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) says “the study takes on increasing importance in light of the construction forecasts, compiled earlier this year by the CSC, which indicate that in many provinces tight markets for some trades mean employers and contractors will need to recruit out of the local market.” COAA played a significant role in the development of the Alberta forecast report.
According to the study, the typical mobile worker “is married, with at least two dependents under the age of 18 years, and his working mobile has a net-negative impact on his marriage and family.”
Significant personal expenses either on the job or at home while workers are away is cited as a major potential barrier to working mobile. The report also notes that mobile workers “have significant negative self-esteem and concern about he social status of the skilled trades vis à vis the communities in which they work mobile and in respect of other lines of work.”
The self-esteem of mobile workers is influenced by the attitudes of those in the communities where they work: “….They believe themselves to provide the necessary skill and commitment to build the infrastructure of the nation. But they find they are not regarded with respect by their fellow tradespersons (for whom local work is always preferable). They observe lack of parity with other blue-collar industries (such as truckers and mechanics, who are provided preferential tax consideration by the government). And they find industry leaders tend to treat them as replaceable commodities. Most would not recommend the life to their children.”
Working Mobile is the first study in Canada to look at why workers move to find work and the obstacles to their doing so, as well as the career path of mobile construction workers, including their movements between sectors of the industry and provinces and territories. The research was conducted through on-site surveys and focus groups, and is part of a series of research reports on issues related to the supply of labour in the Canadian construction industry.
Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.
The CSC is a not–for–profit, independent labour/business partnership organization established in 2001, to address the current and future human resource needs of the construction industry in Canada.
For more information on these and other CSC programs:
Michelle Walsh
Manager, Communications
Construction Sector Council
walsh@csc-ca.org
Tel: (613) 569-5552, ext. 230
Fax: (613) 569-1220
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Foreign-trained workers “fall through cracks”: new study |
October 24, 2005
OTTAWA – Canadian construction companies could be missing out on a huge pool of skilled labour because of an inconsistent, informal method of assessing foreign-trained worker credentials, says a new study published this fall by the Construction Sector Council (CSC).
A Study of Assessment and Recognition of Foreign-Trained Worker Credentials in the Construction Industry finds that foreign-trained workers are at a disadvantage because of language barriers, insufficient documentation, and lack of knowledge about Canadian health and safety regulations, building codes, and other workplace requirements.
“Many foreign-trained workers are falling through the cracks when it comes to skill assessment,” says CSC Executive Director George Gritziotis, “and that translates into a loss of qualified labour at a time when some regions and sectors of the industry need it more than ever.”
The research also concludes that “…the process is not systematic and difficult to navigate. Apprenticeship officers use judgement and experience to assess foreign-trained workers. No books of international equivalencies are available to them. A multitude of players is involved, policies are contradictory, and there appears to be no strong industry involvement.”
For example, Gritziotis notes that “the credentials of a tradesperson from South East Asia are assessed in the same way as the one who just came through the apprenticeship system here. The Asian man could be very skilled at his trade, but if his English is poor, or he doesn’t have the right documents, he will not likely get the job.”
“This study adds to the body of knowledge we need to address this increasingly important issue. With demographics, retirements and attrition, a good understanding of how these credentials are dealt with allows us to work toward making better use of a key labour source.”
The CSC commissioned the study to gain a better understanding of how foreign credentials are assessed and recognized in the construction industry, in related trades, and in other countries.
It includes 65 interviews with representatives from apprenticeship offices, government, owners, contractors, contractor associations, labour groups, credential recognition agencies, educational institutions, and immigrant-serving agencies.
The report recommends how to improve the process in a way that allows industry to make full use of the productive potential of the workforce, and Canadian immigrants to make full use of their skills and experience. It calls for integrating foreign-trained workers through a system that complements their skills, education, and experience, while meeting the needs of the Canadian economy.
“The responsibility for acting on the recommendations falls to the industry – employers and labour groups – in partnership with apprenticeship offices,” says Gritziotis, noting that the CSC is now in discussion with directors of apprenticeship and other key stakeholders, in an effort to address some of the barriers to foreign-trained worker integration.
As part of its labour market information program, the Construction Sector Council is conducting research on issues related to the supply of labour in the Canadian construction industry.
Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.
The CSC is a not–for–profit, independent labour/business partnership organization established in 2001, to address the current and future human resource needs of the construction industry in Canada.
For more information on these and other CSC programs:
Michelle Walsh
Manager, Communications
Construction Sector Council
walsh@csc-ca.org
Tel: (613) 569-5552, ext. 230
Fax: (613) 569-1220
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Construction industry welcomes long-awaited tool to project labour requirements |
June 21, 2005
OTTAWA – A first-of-its-kind forecasting model released today by the Construction Sector Council (CSC) indicates a growing need for a mobile workforce able to move between provinces, industries and sectors to keep pace with the increased demand for skilled trades.
The model creates an assessment of demand for 38 trades and occupations in every province, from 2005 to 2013.
“This industry has long needed a sophisticated economic forecasting tool like this to help us with the why, where and when of on-time, on-budget project planning,” says Tim Flood, CSC business co-chair and president of John Flood and Sons Ltd. “These projections are an excellent starting point for analysis that can be refined with updated information -- a new sharp tool for the risk management tool box.”
Working with the CSC and senior economists, the model was developed with input from owners, contractors, labour groups and government representatives from all provinces, and from all sectors of the industry who have brought unique and relevant information to the table. The result is a national summary and 10 provincial “Construction Looking Forward” reports for use by industry stakeholders.
“These forecasts will go a long way to ensure the continued growth of a major, multi-billion dollar industry that is a barometer for Canada’s economy,” says Bob Blakely CSC labour co-chair and director of Canadian Affairs for the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.
“They will help guide human resource planning and policy, training curriculums, career planning, and more,” he adds.
“Bringing together such a large network of stakeholders with key information like major projects, workers’ age demographics, and available training is a groundbreaking initiative for the construction industry. This type of detailed forecasting would not have been possible without the significant contribution of more than 100 different construction industry partners.”
The national summary forecast was released today. It can be viewed at www.csc-ca.org. Next week, detailed projections will be delivered by the special Labour Market Information Committees set up in each province by the CSC. Annual releases are planned.
Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.
The CSC is a not–for–profit, independent labour/business partnership organization established in 2001, to address the current and future human resource needs of the construction industry in Canada.
For more information on these and other CSC programs:
Michelle Walsh
Manager, Communications
Construction Sector Council
walsh@csc-ca.org
Tel: (613) 569-5552, ext. 230
Fax: (613) 569-1220
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