Where The Opportunities Are: Raising Awareness, Attracting Workers

WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES

ARE: RAISING AWARENESS, ATTRACTING WORKERS

Chris Allinotte, WRLA

More than the price of lumber, more than the uncertainty of shipping routes, more even than inflation itself, there is one question that is always on the mind of business owners and managers in the Building Supply Sector— how are we going to stay in business if we don’t have enough workers?

The answer to that is as important as it is complex. What’s more, it is an issue that gets harder to comprehend the closer you are to it. When you work in the Lumber and Building Material (LBM) business, it’s hard to imagine that many people have no idea about this particular industry or, if they do know about “lumber” as a commercial sector, they are unaware of just how many unique career paths there are in this industry.

WRLA is seeking to change all that. While the financial stability and growth of our members has always been a top priority, with our most recent Strategic Plan, Western Retail Lumber Association (WRLA) has identified recruitment as a key pillar of our mandate as an organization. Our four pillars, or the main purposes of the WLRA, are “Attract, Advocate, Connect, and Educate”.

Starting this fall, WRLA will be undertaking a public awareness campaign on behalf of the building supply sector, focused on raising awareness of the various opportunities in the sector and attracting new talent to the workforce. As we begin, there are some great opportunities for growth that we’ll be highlighting through social media, a dedicated campaign website, and eyecatching advertising.

Careers in the LBM offer entry points at every level and a variety of jobs from on-site labor to high-level strategic planning in an office setting. Our industry plays a major role in the creation of Canada’s communities and our work brings with it a sense of accomplishment.

When the campaign begins in the fall, WRLA members will have an important role to play in sharing these messages with the help of custom toolkits and job posting strategies. As the program continues, we’ll be utilizing data from the soon-to-be-launched Labor Market Survey that we’re running in conjunction with the Government of Alberta to inform and direct our efforts and make our advertising and social media even more engaging.

We can’t wait to show you what we have in store, and our goal, as always, is to support our members to even greater success.