👷Talent Thursdays: BladeRunners

Together with

Good morning! 🎥 Lights, camera, construction! SiteNews is now on a screen near you. Check out our first SiteNews Flash video where we dig into the week’s biggest stories. We are going to be producing videos regularly, so be sure to subscribe!

📈 LABOUR BY THE NUMBERS

New data from Construction Association of P.E.I. highlights the region's critical skilled trades shortage. For every person in the industry who retires, 2.2 individuals will need to be trained and hired to replace them. In Atlantic Canada, the industry needs to hire 27,000 new workers to meet demand. To keep up with housing demands, PEI will need to increase its construction workforce by 87%, underscoring the urgency of addressing labor shortages and expanding capacity.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Tom Plumb will retire from his roles as CEO and President of Kinetic Construction on Jan. 5, 2026. He has been with the company for 28 years. Mike Walz, Kinetic's current Chief Operating Officer will take on the role of President.

Andrew Ahrendt has joined PCL as its new Manufacturing Centre of Excellence Leader. With decades of experience delivering exceptional results for manufacturing clients, Ahrendt will spearhead innovation and excellence across industries like semiconductors, life sciences, food and beverage, and more.

Tony Gill has been appointed VP and lead of AtkinsRéalis' new Architecture, Design and Master Planning Practice in Canada.

Padraig McCarthy, Todd Baker, and Aleksi Makila have been promoted to Operations Managers at Chandos Construction.

Ali Salman has been named Chair of the Modular Building Institute's R&D Council. Salman is director at Northgate Modular.

Chad Penney has joined Industra Construction as Director, Corporate Development. Previously, Penney spent nearly five years at Rio Tinto.

Melissa Chee has joined EllisDon's Board of Directors. Chee brings over 25 years of diverse experience scaling global technology multinationals and start-ups, while fostering innovation and inclusion in the tech ecosystem.

Jacqueline Lotzkar is now President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries. For the last four years, she has been Vice President with Pacific Metals Recycling International, Vancouver, B.C. while recently supporting the corporate sale process and ownership transition following their 112-year family-owned business.

Christine Wong is now Director, Legal, at Tricon Residential

Allison Scott is now Director, Growth Enablement & Customer Engagement for Sustainability & Impact at Autodesk.

The entire December edition of People Moves is out now! Click on the link below to check it out. We had our most monthly moves ever!

TOGETHER WITH EUROLINE WINDOWS

Job site bots: Demo innovative layout tech

Attendees at our 25 Innovators in Construction event can get up close and personal with Maxan Interior Systems’ mechanical team member. The robot ensures quick, accurate and easy construction site layouts. Our event will take place on Feb. 6th in Abbotsford, B.C. and feature some of the most innovative construction companies in the country. Only five tickets remain! Use promo code INNOVATOR2025 in the link below to get 25% off. 

🗞 HEADLINES

Building capacity: 🪚 The Ontario government is investing nearly $27 million to train more skilled carpenters by expanding training programs and constructing a new facility in Sudbury while upgrading four others in London, Windsor, Cambridge, and Ottawa. This initiative, supporting 2,600 additional workers, includes $13 million for five union locals of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA)

A cut above: 👷 BladeRunners, a trades program operated by ACCESS, has helped over 10,000 Indigenous youth across B.C. secure entry-level construction jobs over the past 30 years. Providing safety training, meals, work gear, and employment support, the program addresses systemic barriers such as intergenerational trauma and lower graduation rates.

Be excellent: 🚀 PCL Construction has launched a Manufacturing Center of Excellence to capitalize on the growing trend of reshoring production to North America. Led by industry veteran Andrew Ahrendt, the center centralizes manufacturing expertise within PCL to streamline facility planning, engineering, construction, and production start-up across the U.S. and Canada.

PEGO agreement: 🤝 The Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO) has reached a tentative four-year collective agreement with the Treasury Board Secretariat after more than 18 months of bargaining and its first-ever strike. The agreement, covering January 2023 to December 2026, highlights the need for public-sector investment in engineering and land surveying to prevent costly infrastructure delays.

🧠 LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• Is your phone sapping motivation?

• Humble leaders inspire others to step up

• Preparing your business for potential tariffs 

• Steel River Group CEO shares 10 leadership lessons

• Achieving flow in construction without hurting people

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site." - Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect

🔥HOT JOBS

Manager, Structures - Toronto, Ont. - Ontario Public Service Leadership

Project Manager, TI - Vancouver, B.C. - Axiom Builders

Construction Project Manager - Vancouver, B.C. - Signia Construction 

Project Coordinator, Civil Infrastructure - Coquitlam, B.C. - Lafarge

Project Manager - Campbell River, B.C. - EBC

🔥 Check out all roles up for grabs right now at SiteNews Jobs or put your job post in front of tens of thousands of construction professionals here.

Struggling to fill a role? send us an email at [email protected] to connect with one of our specialized recruitment experts.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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