A NEW DAY A NEW DAY - Toronto Construction Association

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Chairman’s Message Initiatives such as the TCA’s Construction Day partnership with Junior Achievement present construction as a promising career choice to high school students long before they have to make their decision. If they’re won over, then it’s up to the higher education system to make sure that they can follow through. In that context, the development of first-class higher-education programs in construction, such as the School of Construction Management and Trades at George Brown College, is one of the reasons Ackerley is optimistic about the future. STEPPING UP Public-sector initiatives have loomed large in the last couple of years with the introduction of public-sector infrastructure spending as a form of economic stimulus. Investment in areas like transit has a long-term benefit, Ackerley believes, because the infrastructure is large-scale and takes time to build. However, along with a growing number of construction industry observers, he is keeping an eye on the private sector, which will inevitably be expected to play a greater role as public-sector funding for infrastructure projects is stepped back. “I’d say the spirit in the industry is one of cautious optimism,” Ackerley says. “Overall the industry has come through the recession better than some others, but if new opportunities don’t materialize, or if we do hit a second dip as some people are saying, there could be problems.” Private-sector building, notably office-tower construction, has always made up a large proportion of construction work in Toronto. There’s a longer-term payoff here too, Ackerley believes. After a building is constructed, there’s a lot of ongoing work to be had not just in building operations and management, but also in work like interior design, renovation and equipping suites in advance of new tenants. Ackerley has legal clients in this kind of work, so he understands the benefits to be had. “I don’t know if those who are warning about a double-dip recession are right,” he says. “But whether or not it turns out to be true, as long as there’s some uncertainty the people in the private sector with money to invest will tend to hold off, and they’re the ones we need in the long term.” |BD 8 | Builders' Digest Quarter 3 2010
Cover Story A NEW DAY TCA partnered with Junior Achievement for Construction Day 2010 – a new way to bring the good word about the industry to tomorrow’s leaders By Liz Katynski THE POPULATION IS AGING, AND THE CONSTRUCTION industry ages with it. Despite the excellent career opportunities the field can offer, more can be done to let young people know about the benefits — personal and financial — that a career in construction can bring. This simple statement of fact lies at the heart of the TCA’s ongoing strategy to develop education and outreach programs that build the profile of construction among the general public, among young people entering the workforce — and more importantly, long before they enter the workforce. Encouraging signs already abound that people who opt for a career in construction will have all the resources they need to make that dream a reality, perhaps most notably the continuing development of first-class higher education programs such as the construction school at Toronto’s George Brown College. But practical steps must be taken now to persuade young hearts and minds that construction has something to offer them, and that their talents and energies will be in real demand by the time they enter the workforce. One new and promising response to that challenge was the recent partnership between the TCA and Junior Achievement of Central Ontario (JACO) to deliver a new program called “Construction Day” to Grade 8 students in Central Ontario schools. The first-ever Construction Day was held on April 14 with over 100 TCA volunteers visiting 50 classrooms to share their enthusiasm for careers in Katherine Lee of Bilfinger Berger Project Investments and Adriana Mema, Adriatica Safety Consulting, TCA volunteers at Windfields Junior High School, North York the construction industry. It was such a success that there are plans to make it an annual event. Junior Achievement’s “Economics for Success” program was a good fit with the TCA’s message that the construction industry has something to offer individuals of a wide range of interests and talents — and with the information that TCA delivered about the steps required to launch a construction career. “It starts with the message that students have to stay in school if they want to have Builders' Digest Quarter 3 2010 | 9
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A NEW DAY A NEW DAY - Toronto Construction Association

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