Filling in the gaps

It's no surprise that the population is aging-- and as a result, people will be retiring, leaving gaps in the workforce that's especially evident in the area of skilled trades.

It's also no surprise that the gaps will affect the residential construction industry, which relies on skilled tradespeople to build homes.

Carma Developers was one of the first to step up when SAIT announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art Trades and Technology Complex.

The 740,000-square-foot complex is priced at $445 million. Carma, which also has Heartland and Hawthorne Homes under its wing, became one of 10 founding builders that will change the future of trades and technology education.

Each of the builders contributed $1 million to kick-start the complex, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2012.

It will add another 3,600 student spaces to SAIT, which translates into 8,100 more apprentice, full-and part-time learner opportunities each year.

The building will facilitate students in the construction, energy and manufacturing sectors.

The aging workforce is already having a big effect on the housing industry.

What can be a surprise to many is that anything negatively affecting the homebuilding industry will affect the bottom line of the country as a whole.

In Alberta, alone, the construction sector contributes as much as $16 billion to the provincial economy, employing as many as 110,000 people in various businesses related to residential construction, says the Canadian Home Builders' Association-Alberta. By 2015, unless the industry does a better job of recruiting, it will need to find more than 250,000 new people across Canada to replace retirees and keep up with regular demand, says the Construction Sector Council.

That's one third of those working, or 775,000 employees within 33 different trades across the nation, says Statistics Canada.

The need for skilled workers was first targeted by Carma Developers well over a decade ago when it stepped up with a $100,000 donation to create the Carma Centre of Excellence in Home Building and Development.

The money helped established a virtual learning centre to work with schools, promoting the industry to students and their parents.

Yet in turn, the Carma Centre of Excellence in Home Building and Development brought other problems to light, says Carma president and CEO Alan Norris.

"It was frustrating," he says.

"We created the centre, which had career paths from the high-school level, to SAIT, then to the building industry. We'd engage the students, but then they couldn't get seats.

"It was ironic to me that we could do all that, then getting into post-secondary programs wasn't a priority because they were too full to take many students."

Larry Rosia, dean of the school of construction at SAIT, confirms this was the situation.

"We would turn away up to 4,000 students in some years and there was a need of new facilities-- especially because of the number of people who are predicting a shortage." he says.

Although the recent slowdown in the economy has resulted in fewer homes being built and some students turning to other career choices, the long-range shortage of skilled workers still looms-- and more space is needed to train those interested in the trades.

Jay Westman, president and CEO of Jayman MasterBuilt, was the catalyst to start fundraising among the construction industry for SAIT's Trades and Technology Complex.

"We gave SAIT $1 million in 2007 and were asked to help bring this project along--and we decided it should be an industry-wide thing, rather than just through Jayman," says Westman.

"The project was very exciting and visionary, and we took it to the industry. Very quickly, Tom Mauro (founder of Albi Homes) and Carma jumped in, then others--and now we have 10 founding builders and $10 million to start."

The founding builders are: Westman, Norris, Mauro, Glynn Hendry of Qualico, Avi Amir of Homes by Avi, Cal Wenzel of Shane Homes, Scott Haggins of Cedarglen Homes, Al Morrison of Morrison Homes, Wayne Chiu of Trico Homes and Harry Stepper of Stepper Homes.

"We took this initiative tiative as an industry because we believe we have to develop core talent to do the jobs of housebuilding even better and come up with more innovation," says Norris. "We strive for excellence in an industry that I believe has unlimited opportunities. You get out in spades whatever you put into the industry.

"It is truly an entrepreneurial business that allows you to go wherever you want to go. The sky is the limit."

At the same time, though, he says that "we compete with every other industry for talent, and we have to show that we offer choice and opportunity."

That starts with the new Trades and Technology Centre, where the founding builders will have ongoing rapport with SAIT to refine and develop a curriculum that's relevant to the industry, says Westman.

"We want to influence kids that this is a great industry with a lot of opportunities, but we also have to influence the parents," he says.

"We need to connect with young people and we need everybody on the same page.

"We (the founding builders) will be meeting with SAIT a couple of times a year to communicate the needs and wants of the industry in terms of educational requirements."

One area Westman likes is the creation of an Exploratorium, where Grade 7 and 8 students will be involved in looking at careers at SAIT as part of their curriculum to get hands-on insight into trades and technical training.

"If that happens, we have accomplished our goal," says Westman.

"This is the pinnacle of our accomplishments-- 10 very influential builders communicating directly with SAIT."

It fits in well with SAIT's vision, says Rosia.

"We see the construction industry as an important component of the institution," he says. "The new building will be the opportunity for more learners to get hands-on career-oriented training in an industry with high demand."

That practical approach to learning is a key that could evolve even further in future, says Norris.

Journeyman and apprenticeship programs currently only apply to about four major trades--a small percentage of the trades involved in residential construction.

"We need to have some level of evidence that people are taught appropriately for the level of work that they are doing," says Norris. "It would be nice to get it all on a professional level."

That could mean more certification courses for all levels of trades.

"I believe what comes with education is respect and career choices," he says. "That's one further way to strengthen the professionalism of the industry and attract people to it as a first choice."

Meanwhile, fundraising for the complex continues at all levels, including the energy and manufacturing industry.

The province has given $300 million plus $9 million in matching funds through the Renaissance Program, and the federal government has given $4 million.

At the homebuilder level, the founding builders will be asking trades to step up with funding as well.

The Carma Centre of Excellence, now simple called the Centre of Excellence, is run through the Canadian Home Builders' Association-Calgary Region.

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IN SHORT

WHAT: New Trades and Technology Complex at SAIT--a 740,000-square-foot, $445-million, state-of-the-art facility. It will add more than 700,000 square feet of learning space-- as well as 3,600 student spaces, or 8,100 more apprentice or full-and part-time learner opportunities-- per year to the institution in the areas of construction, energy and manufacturing. The residential construction industry has 10 founding builders who have each contributed $1 million to the facility. The centre will be comprised of three buildings, with the emphasis on an innovative, flexible and more integrated approach to trades and technical training that's intended to reflect real-life workplaces.

WHEN: Construction has started, with completion scheduled for 2012.

FUNDRAISING: The Promising Futures Campaign goal is set at $75 million, with $37.5 million already raised or committed, including $10 million from the founding builders

News source: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Filling+gaps/2298172/story.html