DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND: TRAINING THE NEW WORKFORCE

Martine Yzerman, WRLA

When you look at your business, how do you feel about the rapid change we’ve experienced in the last three years? We thought technology was pushing us forward rapidly before COVID, but during the pandemic, not a single area of our industry was left untouched. We had to adapt to an online world to survive. Most of us can name several businesses that couldn’t do so.

We’re facing new upheavals now in 2023. Whether as an aftermath of the pandemic or as a result of the generational shift, much of our workforce is hitting retirement age, and our whole industry is feeling the effects of the labour shortage. In a survey to WRLA members conducted in November 2022, 60% of respondents had at least one fulltime equivalent position open for six months or more. The needs are critical: to attract new talent, train them well, and retain and upskill them for new opportunities in the industry.

The WRLA has established a relationship with the Calgary Board of Education’s internship program, “Careers.” The Cedar Shop, under the leadership of Mitch Wile, stepped forward to take advantage of this opportunity to increase its hiring prospects. Within a month of the first conversation, two high school students were designated to The Cedar Shop and soon after began training with Mitch and his team. During the slow season, they are training in each area of operations. When business picks up, they will focus on sales, and plans are already in place to hire them on a full-time basis.

Because of their experience, both students are eager to continue. They say they had never realized the opportunity for growth and the variety of work they can do in the building supply industry.

Mitch is happy that they’re enthusiastic, willing to learn, and that he has the opportunity to introduce them both to the business and to critical skills. He says, “There are so many young people that don’t know about us (Lumber and Building Industry). This is the future, and if we don’t grasp it, all our businesses are going to suffer.”

The Careers program is accessible to employers throughout Alberta in the building and trades industry. In addition to the Alberta Careers program, there are other Federal Government Programs available to our non-Alberta residents. If this sounds intriguing, please connect with the WRLA Director of Professional Development, Martine Yzerman at myzerman@wrla.org

Students aren’t the only new sector that we can introduce our industry (and its opportunities) to. Newcomers to Canada, women, and other underrepresented groups need to be at the front of our minds when we’re thinking about how to address our critical labour shortage.

However, these groups come with unique needs. Many are coming into the industry with no background in lumber or building material. Some will come in while they’re still learning English or may not have proficiency with standard Canadian building terminology. Good onboarding processes become critical.

Even Mitch, innovator extraordinaire, realized his onboarding process needed a significant overhaul when training students with no industry background. He had to have his staff rebuild all of their training processes from the ground up.

WRLA sees the huge need and opportunity here. That’s why we’ve launched the WRLA Academy. Not only did our earlier course material need to be updated to keep up with our fast-paced industry, but our delivery processes needed to adapt. Some of you have noticed that our in-person Estimating Courses are now each taught in a single full-day session.

The WRLA is designing and developing an industry curriculum. The Terminology Fundamentals for Estimating course is designed to address the exact problem Mitch encountered when he was training his interns. The course provides insight into every component involved when creating a materials “takeoff,” which is ideal for those interested in becoming estimators and anyone new to the industry. Remember that your estimators are critical sales contributors to your team. Let’s ensure they are empowered and knowledgeable!

The Blueprint Reading course is another online course soon offered at the WRLA, which takes the in-person classroom experience to an online interactive course. It is a deep dive into all the components of a blueprint, including calculating vertical and horizontal dimensions, elevation, the importance of the ‘cut plane,’ and so much more! A final exam has been added to the course, which could be challenged without completing the online course for those who have had some experience reading drawings.

We encourage all those interested in becoming estimators to complete the online Blueprint Reading course and, if required, to complete the Terminology for Estimating. These online courses offer interactive, micro-learning skill development, which allows students to learn at their own speed and immediately apply their newly developed skills on the job.

Currently, one of our members is piloting the Terminology course with a new hire who happens to be a newcomer to Canada. They have found, among many other things, that it paves the way to clear communication.

We couldn’t be more excited for 2023 and the many courses we are developing. Don’t fret—the in-person class experience is here to stay! However, we want to make sure that our members have access to knowledge both online and in-person as we eagerly await another exciting fresh new season on the calendar—spring!

Our goal going forward is to gather the vast and rich resources we have available to us in our industry—experience, knowledge, and technology—and invest them back into the people who power this industry.

Let’s go build a strong industry together.