👷Talent Thursdays: Derailed

Together with

Good morning! 🏈 What does life after construction look like? For Larry Thompson, former owner of Thompson Construction Group, it involves buying a professional sports team. After 40 years in the industry, he sold his company and recently purchased the Edmonton Elks Football Club.

📈LABOUR BY THE NUMBERS

According to the BC Building Trades, the use of TFWs has become a regular fixture of B.C.’s construction industry with 7,160 of these workers brought in between 2019 and 2023. While TFWs represent 2.1% of the workforce across Canada, they make up 4.7% of B.C.’s construction workforce.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Sameer Hasham has been named a Top 10 Under 40 Canadian Consulting Engineer. An associate and group leader, Hasham has been with RJC Engineers for almost 15 years ever since his co-op placement back in 2010.

Brittany Robertson and Jurgen Koehler have been named partners at land development and building industry consulting firm Crozier. 

Michelle Ajibola is QM Environmental’s new chief operating officer. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in the engineering and construction industry to QM and has a track record of strategic initiatives that drive growth and strengthen stakeholder relationships.  

Luke Forrest is now vice president of sales at Bridgit. Forrest brings extensive experience in construction technology and the SaaS startup space. 

Amanda Jarl has started a new position as Transportation Investment Corporation’s senior communications and engagement manager for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain Project

Nigel Tai, a principal at Diamond Schmitt, has been appointed to Ottawa’s Urban Review Design Panel. He will help promote design excellence with a focus on community enhancement.

🗞 HEADLINES

🚂 The Federal government is under pressure to prevent a rail worker strike set to begin today, which could severely impact the economy, especially the construction sector. Jock Finlayson, chief economist at the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA), warned that a prolonged strike could trigger a recession, given Canada's current sluggish economic growth. 

🚛 Alberta faces a significant shortage of 4,000 commercial truck drivers, impacting the movement of goods and inflating costs for consumers and businesses. To address this, the Alberta government has amended the Class 1 Experience and Equivalency Program to expedite licensing for Ukrainian evacuees with truck driving experience, providing a dual benefit of easing the driver shortage and supporting evacuees. 

👷‍♀️ Ottawa has approved Quebec's request for a six-month pause on new applications to the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in Montreal, effective September 3, with exemptions for sectors like construction, agriculture, and food processing. The pause, impacting about 3,500 low-wage jobs, reflects concerns over the strain on health services, housing, and the French language.

⚒️ Skilled workers in B.C. could soon benefit from significant federal funding. Ottawa announced a $16.3 million investment in 25 projects designed to support skilled workers across the province. The funding comes from the federal government's Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP) and will be distributed through its Investment in Training Equipment stream.

TOGETHER WITH FLYNN GROUP

Network with construction’s top leaders

With just 34 days until the Construction Leaders Forum in Toronto, we wanted to give you a taste of just some of the professionals you will be hearing from. Our program features Lisa Laronde, Amit Patel, Daryl Cooper, Daniel Foch and many others. Tickets are going fast so be sure to secure your spot. If you buy before Aug. 26, you can redeem a 50% subscriber discount by using the promo code SITENEWS-SUBSCRIBER in the link below.

🧠 LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

Should you implement an ERP system?

How to win more construction bids in 2024

6 strategies to retain your construction workforce

The state of digital adoption in the industry

How to speak so that people want to listen

🔥HOT JOBS

Senior Project Accountant - Edmonton, Alta. - Ledcor

Superintendent - Winnipeg, Man. - Aecon Group

Senior Estimator - Edmonton, Alta. - PCL Construction 

Senior Construction Manager - Vancouver, B.C. - Areva Living

Vice President, Development - Vancouver, B.C. - Grosvenor

🔥 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.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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