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Construction Sector Council
A vaulable contribution to Operating Engineers By Allan Bruce, International representative The Construction Sector Council (CSC) is a unique labour-business partnership that addresses human resource issues facing the construction industry, such as what to do about the aging workforce, the need for skills training and the development of occupational standards. The International Union of Operating Engineers is one of the council’s founding partners. The council’s work has had a significant impact on operating engineers in Canada. The CSC developed national standards for 27 heavy equipment operator occupations. They are now being used as models for other trades seeking to develop standards. When the standards were completed in 2003, IUOE Canadian Director Derm Cain, who is also a founding CSC board director, said they brought much needed recognition to the crucial role that operating engineers play on construction sites. The IUOE also helped with the development of the council’s first online course—Pipeline Construction Safety Training. Today, the CSC hosts an E-learning Centre with four courses currently available and a further nine to be developed in the next three years. Through the Canadian Operating Engineer Joint Apprenticeship Training Council, the IUOE is one of the main distributors of these e-learning products. The growing list of products and services are in demand by construction stakeholders, such as owners, contractors, labour groups, training providers and governments. However, the CSC is perhaps best known for its work on forecasting the industry’s labour requirements. This spring, for the fourth year in a row, construction industry decision makers are anticipating the release of Construction Looking Forward: Labour Requirements for Canada and the Provinces from 2008 to 2016. The reports are also available in hard copy and you can customize your queries to suit your information needs. The forecasts estimate what the specific requirements will be (when, where, how many) for 31 trades over the next 9 years. They are based on input about investments, major projects, retirements, training needs, the available workforce and other factors in 14 regional markets. At the heart of the plan are Labour Market Information committees. They gather information from industry leaders in all sectors of construction and representatives from governments and training institutions. The LMI committees also conduct research on various issues facing construction and career awareness initiatives. For example, CSC's construction careers website, gives youth all the information they need to get started in construction, including career opportunities based on the forecast reports. The site has virtual tours of construction sites, job descriptions, working conditions, earning potential, some 600 links to other information sources and much more. Industry leaders call it a “one stop shop” for careers in the construction industry. Funding for the council is provided by the federal government and the construction industry. The council has an 18-member board of directors made up of nine representatives from business and nine from labour. Robert Blakely, Canadian director of the Building and Construction Trades Department (AFL-CIO) is the labour co-chair. J. Timothy Flood, president of John Flood & Sons (1961) is the business co-chair. |
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