Construction Comment

OCA February 2013_2012 13-01-31 8:43 AM Page 16
A special
learning
event for
construction
leaders and job seekers
Mark your calendar for a unique day-long event that not only delivers
employer best practices for recruiting and retaining employees but
also provides valuable insight to prospective workers.
OCA is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Ottawa Integrated Local Labour
Market Planning (OILLMP), the City of Ottawa, Youth Services Bureau, and the Greater Ottawa Homebuilders Association to stage a one-day learning event for construction-industry
leaders and prospective employees.
Scheduled for February 26 at the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE),
the event begins with a morning session focused specifically on the needs of constructionsector employers. Jeff Westeinde, chair of the Windmill Development Group and cochair of Invest Ottawa will emcee the morning event which will be opened by Mayor
Jim Watson. Carleton University professor and recognized expert in the field of organizational health, Linda Duxbury will provide a keynote address on managing
a changing workforce. She will discuss generational differences and recommend
approaches for employers to take to attract, motivate and retain good employees
of all ages.
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February 2013
OCA February 2013_2012 13-01-31 8:43 AM Page 17
Following that presentation will be a panel discussion on
best practices for building a workforce. Moderated by Prof.
Duxbury, the panel will talk about ways to successfully recruit
and retain employees and broaden the search for talent. Confirmed speakers include Greg Graham, president of Cardel
Homes as well as the following leaders from OCA member
firms: Kevin Skinner, vice-president and Ottawa-area district
manager with PCL Constructors; Tony Sottile, CEO of Modern Niagara Group; and Bobby Watt, president of RJW-Gem
Campbell Stonemasons.
During the afternoon session, which will be emceed by
Councillor Mathieu Fleury, the focus shifts to the particular
needs of job seekers. The afternoon kicks off with a special
address by Mike Holmes. He is expected to speak about professionalism and the diversity of opportunity in the industry.
After that, OCA will host a special presentation on local construction job opportunities. Late last year, OCA asked members to describe their hiring plans for the year ahead. The
association will release the results of those findings during its
afternoon presentation. The afternoon concludes with two
special presentations: one from Boone Plumbing & Heating
explores career options in the industry; the other from Rideau
Transit Group focuses on the Ottawa light rail project.
Running concurrent to these sessions is a construction
marketplace/fair. Employers, service providers, unions and
educational institutions are invited to participate in the fair
and to connect with the expected audience of 250 job seekers.
All attendees will also be invited to tour the outstanding
ACCE building.
Event organizer and OILLMP project manager Ingrid Argyle explains that while a great deal of the people in attendance during the afternoon sessions will be students, a fair
number of older and perhaps more experienced job seekers
will also be on hand.
“We are marketing this event at Algonquin College and La
Cité collégiale, so employers can expect to see a good number
of students and soon-to-be graduates in attendance,” she says.
“We have also marketed the event through Employment Ontario offices, so the crowd won’t be all young people, nor
will they be exclusively focused on hard, technical
skills. I think you’ll also see people interested in
broader construction sector jobs, such as accounting, administration and project management.”
“The entire day is focused on equipping
construction employers and job seekers
with the knowledge and information that
they need to most effectively connect
with each other. Essentially,
OILLMP’s goal is to build connections between the demand and supply sides of the labour market.”
Look for further event details
and registration information on
www.oca.ca and mark your calendar for this exciting event.
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February 2013
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OCA February 2013_2012 13-01-31 8:43 AM Page 36
Growing industry
leaders
Back Row, from left to right: Marco Bélanger, Sébastien Des Rosiers,
Daniel Desjardins, Jim Flegg, Guy Charbonneau, Bryan Cléroux, Micheal Walt,
Sylvain Pagé, Phillipe Landry, Daniel Chouinard, Patrick Blundon
Front Row, from left to right: Patrick Cyr, Carole Renaud, Bernard Des Lauriers,
Ginette Bourbonnais, Geoffrey Carle, Denis Auger, Roxanne Lamontagne, Terry Kulka
(Academic Director), Absent at time of photo: Stephen Smith, Claude Séguin.
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Graduates from the first class of a local leadership-training program
for construction professionals report nothing but great experiences.
If you’re a construction professional who wants to take
the next step in your career, the Telfer School of Management’s Centre for Executive Leadership has just the program for you. Leadership for Growing Businesses is a
12-month, 14-day program that aims to develop the construction and property management industry’s senior middle managers into the next generation of executive leaders.
The course was designed with input from industry leaders, and offers instruction on best practices in areas such
as leadership and strategic awareness, operational excellence, critical leadership competencies and business development. Academic director Terry Kulka says the
program was born of a need expressed to him by senior
officials at Boone Plumbing & Heating.
“Claude Des Rosiers told us that there was a real need
in the construction industry for a program like an executive MBA that offers real instruction on business strategies
to managers who understand the specifics of the industry
very well,” he says. “We designed the Leadership for
Growing Businesses program to be uniquely focused on
building business leadership skills among construction
professionals.”
Des Rosiers continues to be a strong advocate of the
program and is passionate about convincing today’s industry leaders about the importance of preparing the leaders of tomorrow and providing them with the tools they
need to ensure a vibrant construction industry in our region.
Mark Fazio, vice-president with EllisDon’s Ottawa office, got involved with the program as a sponsor. He
worked with Kulka and the academic team to lend perspective about ways the industry works, and he participated in a panel discussion that was part of the program
curriculum.
“What really caught my eye was the level of detail the
students explored,” he said. “In their final year-end projects, they were asked to address issues pertaining to the
construction business landscape, such as politics, the economy, social issues, the use of technology and competition.
There was a lot of great intelligence and insight on display
there.”
Grads speak out
The program turned out its first graduating class last
December. Among the group was Patrick Blundon, director of Broccolini Construction’s Ottawa office. He calls
the program a great fit for anyone in a transitional period
in their careers.
“For me, the timing of this course was perfect,” he says.
“I was at a point in my career where I had ten years of
hands-on project management experience, and was about
to shift gears and assume a leadership role at Broccolini’s
Ottawa office. The program gave me a lot of new perspectives on important business development topics, and enabled me to network with colleagues and share
experiences that I could use in the workplace.”
Jim Flegg, vice-president of construction with Louis
W. Bray Construction, says he appreciated the course’s
focus on the broader operations of a business that project
managers may not otherwise learn or fully comprehend.
“I’m completely familiar with how to do accounting on
an individual project,” he says, “but general balance sheets
were totally alien to me. This program helped me understand that facet of the business much better and gave me
a better perspective of how to run a company as a whole.”
Marco Bélanger, director of operations for Mondeau
Bathroom and Kitchen, says the program gave him more
confidence in his ability to manage his business operations.
“I’d certainly recommend it for an up and comer who
has very little formal business training. The program really
helps you take the next step from specialist in one aspect
of a business to the generalist who understands enough of
everything to make the operations run smoothly.”
All three grads reported spending between eight and 16
hours a month on assignments and reading work for the
class, in addition to the one full day each month that they
spent in class.
Staying the course
Kulka says that, based on the feedback he and his team
received from the 2012 graduates, the 2013 curriculum
will be more or less unchanged.
“We want to make the course modules as high value as
possible, so we may tweak content to make it more relevant to the challenges the industry faces in 2013, but we’re
certainly not planning a major overhaul of the content or
curriculum.”
Registration for 2013 now open
Anyone interested in registering for the 2013 program
should do so soon. The program begins anew in April, and
applicants are expected to submit a letter of intent to the
Telfer School as well as a CV and a letter of nomination
from a company executive.
For more information, see
www.telfer.uottawa.ca/LFGB or
contact senior program officer Brent Moore
at 613-564-0043 or bmoore@telfer.uottawa.ca.
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