Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 F AL L 2 019 MA GAZINE BUILDFORCE Building the workforce of tomorrow, today THE GENERATIONAL SHIFT Immigration wins and woes Will Canadian construction companies need to look outside our borders to meet the industry's needs? From here to there As demographics change, how will mobile work fit in?BUILDFORCE MAGAZINE // Fall 2019 5 BUILDFORCE MA GAZINE Fall 2019 Published For: BUILDFORCE CANADA 220 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 1150 Ottawa, ON K1P 5Z9 Contact: Bill Ferreira, Executive Director Tel.: (613) 569-5552, ext. 222 info@buildforce.ca www.buildforce.ca Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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GREETINGS 7 A message from the Chair of BuildForce Canada 9 A message from the Executive Director of BuildForce Canada FEATURES 11 Skills development critical to ensuring a sustainable workforce for construction trades BUILDFORCE Magazine speaks with the Honourable Patty Hajdu about labour challenges. 15 Immigration wins and woes Does Canada need to look outside its borders to meet industry’s employment demands? 19 Safe projects = successful outcomes Walsh Canada stresses the importance of every employee’s role as a safety champion. 20 Growing opportunities amid a shrinking workforce MCA Canada is exploring ways to fill the labour force shortfall. 23 Fast forward to the future The construction industry is on the verge of transformational change. 25 From here to there As demographics change, how will mobile construction work fit in? 29 Removing barriers Shifting demographics in the industry requires innovative thinking. 30 Mentorship matters Mentorship has emerged as one of the most critical elements in workforce development. 32 Fighting the stigma Merit Canada emphasizes that a career in construction is a smart choice. 34 Residential renovations The construction industry must meet the needs of Canadians who choose to age in place. 36 Into the future It’s time for the construction industry to attract the next generation of workers. 38 Appealing to the underrepresented The CAF-FCA is working to showcase the industry’s benefits to women and Indigenous youth. 40 Global boosters and busters The evolving global economy will lead to changes in the construction industry. 42 Disrupting the system Augmented reality is the latest way to complete work. BUILDFORCE BASICS 43 Get to Know BuildForce Canada 46 INDEX TO ADVERTISERSBUILDFORCE MAGAZINE // Fall 2019 7 I grew up hearing about union negotiations at the dinner table. You see, my dad was a contractor and he was director of the CLR in British Columbia as well. You could say that this industry has always been a part of me; I certainly had an early appreciation for the industry’s nuances. I still carry that appreciation with me today. When I went to university, I decided to work toward a degree in business with a focus on labour relations. After graduation, I spent time on both the contractor side of things, with a large industrial contractor, and in the engineering realm. I’ve worked all across Canada on various projects, and I’ve enjoyed it all. As Chair of BuildForce Canada I intend to use all of my years’ experience, including what I learned from my father at the dinner table, to continue to promote our organization and the important work we do. I am fascinated by the structure of BuildForce and the opportunity it presents to work with all of the industry’s major stakeholders. The Board’s pan-Canadian model brings together major labour providers, owners/ clients, and employer associations in a model that is truly unique. Our focus is on improving and growing the construction labour force. How do we do this? For starters, we have to be adaptive. The industry is changing and so too must the workforce. This includes being technological, advanced, and cutting edge. If we can show the next generation that our industry is modern and innovative, they will choose to be a part of it. This means going into schools and showing students how we build with BIM and use exciting new tools and technologies. It also means working with all labour providers to ensure that the training being provided prepares students to build using the programs that they’ll need in real life. Another area we are focused on is creating an industry that is respectful and inclusive. This is long overdue and 100% necessary. The construction industry has a reputation when it comes to inclusivity. If we want to attract the next generation of workers, then we need to be serious about this. We must build a better image through hard work, grit, and real change at the grassroots level. It’s about word of mouth from mothers to daughters saying that they feel safe on the job, and from new Canadians to their peers saying that they’re welcomed and respected at work. BuildForce can help you create a respectful and inclusive workplace. Our Respectful Workplace Online Self-Assessment Tool helps management evaluate existing corporate polices and procedures to highlight any gaps that may exist. We also have a Respectful Workplace Policy Framework that can be used/ adapted, and a supporting Implementation Guide. Finally, our Working in a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace online course is designed for workers and supervisors. Visit our website and look under the Management Resources tab for more details. I think that many view our industry as a second choice – for those not cut out for university or college. It’s in our power to change that. BuildForce has many areas of focus, including essential skills, training, recruitment, and productivity. However, we are probably best known for the labour market information (LMI) we provide. Did you know that we have committees in each province who do an annual review of construction projects? Canada is such a big country – it is absolutely critical that our LMI includes “boots on the ground” information from local experts. Each province is so different. Having professionals from each region really provides us with granular detail that we wouldn’t be able to offer otherwise. Thank you to them for all of their guidance! We also break the LMI down further, showing the demand for 34 different trades. How many pipefitters are needed in British Columbia? How many carpenters in Ontario? Boilermakers in Nova Scotia? Having these details in the model is really critical for planning at the local and national level. I am really optimistic about our sector’s future. The construction industry is made up of very hardworking men and women who want to pass down their knowledge to the next generation of worker. I know that we can achieve success and I am excited to be part of an organization that is so determined to accomplish these goals. CLYDE SCOLLAN Chair, BuildForce Canada / GREETINGS // A Message from the Chair of BuildForce Canada CLYDE SCOLLAN Chair, BuildForce CanadaBUILDFORCE MAGAZINE // Fall 2019 9 Construction has been the catalyst for human progress since the dawn of civilization, and today, as in years past, it continues to evolve, led by human ingenuity and creativity. Artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, 3D printers, drones, and the Internet of Things will all have a significant impact on the construction industry of the future. Exactly when, however, and to what degree, remains the subject of some debate. And while digital technologies are commonplace today, they will be ubiquitous on the construction site of the future. Will these technologies lead to new tools that turn skilled workers into mere operators, or will they augment the skills of craft workers as earlier advancements have over the centuries? Japan, with one quarter of its population over 65 today, is a world leader in applying advance robotics and automation to the construction process. Its construction industry has made significant investments in these machines and technologies, not to replace workers, but to overcome the labour force shortages driven by their aging demographics. By 2060, nearly 40% of their population will be over 65, further exacerbating their already very tight labour markets. And despite the need and significant industry investments, the use of robots on construction sites remains primarily a complement to craft workers. The much- heralded robot revolution appears still very much off in the distance. While our demographics are not as dire as those in Japan, nearly one quarter of the industry’s current workforce is expected to retire over the next 10 years. And because Canadian families are smaller today than those of earlier generations, there are fewer younger workers available to enter the workforce than ever before. This means the competition for younger workers will be intense, not just from industry employers, but from other industries facing similar demographic challenges chasing the same skilled worker. How the industry markets itself to these next generation workers will be critical as the labour force transitions from baby boomers and Generation X to millennials and iGen. With this issue increasingly on the mind of industry leaders everywhere, we decided to make "Building the Labour Force of Tomorrow, Today" the theme for this year’s magazine. We asked some of the industry’s leading minds to share their views on this challenge and the actions their respective organizations are taking to address this important issue. We hope you find their perspectives of interest. At BuildForce Canada, our goal has always been to provide the construction and maintenance industry with the information and tools it requires to support ongoing recruitment, retention, and workforce professional development activities. To that end, we continue to review and invest in our products and services to ensure they remain aligned with that mandate and continue to reflect the industry’s evolving needs. In 2019, we expanded our BC labour market information (LMI) forecast to include a separate forecast for the Lower Mainland; included gender, Indigenous, and new Canadian labour force participation to better track efforts to recruit from groups traditionally underrepresented in the industry; began work on the development of a new heavy industrial maintenance forecast; and completed the update to our online training courses used by industry professionals for both upskilling and professional development. These are just a few examples of the recent improvements BuildForce Canada has made to our products and services as we continue to support the industry with its labour force development needs. Over the coming year, we will be piloting a new LMI model to better capture the seasonal labour swings inherent to heavy industrial turnaround and shutdown maintenance, updating our Pipeline Construction Safety Training course, and releasing two research reports examining the impact of technology on the future construction labour force, as well as international labour market trends and their impact on the industry’s recruitment of new Canadians. We hope you find them of value. As an industry-led organization, we are here to serve the construction industry, so should you have any suggestions for improvements or require custom data analysis, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you. BILL FERREIRA Executive Director, BuildForce Canada / GREETINGS // BILL FERREIRA Executive Director, BuildForce Canada A Message from the Executive Director of BuildForce CanadaNext >