OTTAWA – An industry-developed website about careers in construction has already drawn thousands of visitors, mostly youth and educators looking to find out what the work is like and where the jobs are.
The new site is aimed at providing students and counselors with information on construction careers, with the goal of attracting a new labour pool to the construction industry to meet replacement demand brought on by a retiring workforce.
“It’s the first site in Canada to offer coast to coast information about real career prospects in construction,” says Rosemary Sparks, Director of Projects at the Construction Sector Council, which built www.careersinconstruction.ca with direction from employer and labour groups, and the support of the education community, and governments.
The new career portal is the first to offer real-time information about job prospects in every Canadian province. “If a student in British Columbia, for example, wants to find out about career opportunities at home or across Canada over the next few years, the information is at their fingertips,” says Sparks.
www.careersinconstruction.ca also features job descriptions, virtual tours of construction sites, video clips and interviews with workers on the job, and information on education and training requirements.
“Where the jobs are, what the work is like, how to choose a career path, enter an apprenticeship program, earn while you learn – it’s all there,” she says. “And if it isn’t, there are more than 600 links to other resources.”
Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program. It is one of several CSC initiatives related to the supply of labour in the construction industry in Canada.
The CSC is a not–for–profit, independent labour/business partnership organization established in 2001, to address the current and future human resource needs of the industry.
More Information:
Rosemary Sparks
Director of Projects
613-569-5552
sparks@csc-ca.org