LET’S GO BUILD!

Shining A Spotlight On The Lumber And Building Materials Industry

Chris Allinotte, WRLA

The wait is almost over! We teased our exciting new public awareness campaign in the Summer issue of Yardstick, and now it’s a reality.

WRLA presents, Let’s go build!

We’ve said for years that the Lumber and Building Material Industry is one of the best-kept secrets going. Well, it’s time to spread the word!

Let’s go build is a dedicated campaign designed to raise awareness of our industry and share the incredible diversity of available career options.

WHY WE CHOSE “LET’S GO BUILD”

The word “build” was carefully chosen because it has a depth of meaning that represents our industry wonderfully.

First and most directly, “build” refers to the literal act of building, whether at the factory level with our manufacturing members or right down to the individual customer swinging a hammer they purchased at a retail store. We are the Lumber and Building Materials Industry.

Build also refers to building community. In our over 130 years as an association, one thing has remained true—the LBM industry is integral to sustaining prosperity and growth in towns and cities across Canada. Houses, schools, hospitals—none of it could be built without the hard work, skills, and knowledge of WRLA members in their communities. Even the smallest towns still need access to lumber and building materials to maintain the homes they have and to build more!

The last meaning of “build” in this campaign is the most important. It refers to individuals being “built up.” A large part of this effort is centred on employment, and we’ll talk more about that piece in a moment, but we’re also committing to increased access to learning and sharing skills. One of the messages we’ll be sharing in the marketing and media you’ll see is that no experience is required to join our industry. There is a place for everyone, and our members’ businesses are more than willing to spend the time and energy to train newcomers. That’s not to say there aren’t places for those folks who come to the industry with a skill set that they are ready to put to work—we’ve got careers waiting for engineers, computer programmers, sales and marketing professionals—you name it! What we are telling the world with “let’s go build” is that there is a place for everyone in our industry and numerous opportunities for individual employees to advance their careers.

The Bottom Line Is Your Bottom Line

Why are we doing this campaign? We want to attract new people to the Lumber and Building Materials Industry. Hundreds of jobs are currently available across our membership, and we need more employees to fill them. What can we do?

Here’s what we’re doing.

In the Fall of 2022, WRLA launched two Labour studies. One is in conjunction with the Government of Alberta, and the second is a similar study for our membership at large. We asked our members to tell us about their businesses, whom they’ve got working for them, whom they’ve hired in the past, and where they have gaps to fill.

We know that, in general, the current workforce in our industry is on the older side, with retirement looking likely for a great many folks in the next few years. Who will take up the slack? Where will the new generation of workers come from? How can a business continue to grow, thrive, or even—concerningly—stay open?

There Is A Place At This Table For Everyone

The “Let’s Go Build” campaign will target groups that have not traditionally made up the majority of employees in the LBM Industry. We will share the news that our businesses are a great place for women to work, as they represent a smaller-than-average percentage of current employees. We’ll also be spreading the word to indigenous communities and to Canadian newcomers alike. There are so many people with a wealth of skills, experience, and a strong desire to get to work. We also want to get our message out to students across Canada. Beyond the main message, which has a strong “help wanted” focus, we’re going to make it clear that whatever a student dreams of doing, there’s a place for them in our industry to follow those aspirations.

WHAT, WHERE, AND HOW

So, what does “Let’s Go Build” look like?

The campaign has a unique style that you’ll see popping up on advertising both online and in traditional channels like magazines and radio. We’re proud of the campaign’s eye-catching visuals and colours and our great new logo. Everything that goes out with the campaign will have the goal of getting people to visit our “Let’s Go Build” website.

That website will feature photos and videos from WRLA members across Canada. It will tell the stories of our industry, and, most importantly, it will feature a careers page that people can use to apply for jobs in our industry right away! This careers page will feature links to our members’ own “help wanted” sections on their websites, organized by region so people can explore the opportunities in their own communities.

JOIN US, AND “LET’S GO BUILD!”

As WRLA members, you are already included in the campaign without any additional action on your part. Our marketing partner, Prospectus, is working on searching and listing our members’ career pages to list on the website, and your businesses are going to come up in searches. If you don’t have a career web page, we’ll work with members to find ways to list their hiring opportunities. That said, there will be opportunities for you to jump in and get more involved. Part of the campaign will include advertising and social media templates that you can customize and promote on your own channels and in your own market. You’ll be able to take advantage of our advertising spend to make sure this message gets seen and let people know that your business is a part of it.

Together we will build up our people, build up our members’ businesses, and build up the Lumber and Building Materials Industry!