TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND: TRAINING THE NEW WORKFORCE Martine Yzerman, WRLA
Above: Mitch Wile from The Cedar Shop with the Olivia and Begaiym.
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HOW WILL OUR MEMBERS RESPOND? THEY WILL INNOVATE TO SURVIVE.
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.
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.
“Our goal is to gather the vast and rich resources we have available to us in LBM industry—the experience, knowledge, technology—and invest it back into the people who power this industry.”
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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.
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.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WHAT DOES IT CHANGE? 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. YARDSTICK MAGAZINE
Spring 2023
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
hen 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.