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JUNE2017 | CAREERSANDEDUCATION.CA

TAKEOFF in a career of aircraft structure.p03

Attract, train and retain workersfor business success.

Make a smart business move:hire an apprentice.

itabc.ca/employers

“The trade industrymakes theworld

go round.”p04

TRADES & APPRENTICESHIPSDISCOVER howto climbup the construction ladder.p02

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ApprenticeshipProgramsAre theBuildingBlocks of theKnowledgeEconomy

In Canada, there are over 200 designa-ted skilled trades in existence. Yet forevery five employers who hire skil-led tradespeople,only one will have anapprentice,even though an apprentice-

ship program can be the best way to build abusiness’sworkforce.According to Gary Herman,CEO of the In-

dustry Trade Authority (ITA) in British Co-lumbia, the three ways to get skilled tra-despeople are to grow your own throughapprenticeships, to poach them from othercompanies,or to import them.“Wehear fromemployerswhohireapprentices that theybe-lieve this is the best way to not only sustainbut grow their businesses.The other modelsare unsustainable,” says Herman.“The com-mon denominator we see is that these busi-ness owners tend to be tradespeople them-selves or, in a larger company, the managercame up through the trades.It’s a cycle of gi-vingback.”Stephen Peel,Vice President of Operations

at Ironside Design Manufacturing in Chil-liwack, a family-owned business since 1914that manufactures corrugated pipe formingequipment, remarks, “There is a shortfall ofskills in the trades,andwe feel it’s importantto invest in apprentices in order to keep ourindustry growing and our business growing.We find that whenwe take the time to trainan apprentice,we can motivate that personto staywithus andgrow.”

AcustomfitWhilehelping to ensure a company’s growthis a big advantage to sponsoring an apprenti-ce,oneof thebiggestgains tobehad is thatanorganization can train employees at an earlystage on its business and how to best fit theneeds of the employer.“Throughmentoring,the employer can train the employee exactlyin theway it wants to best execute theworkand serve thebusiness,” saysHerman.And,in a timewhen the industry faces un-

precedented retirements,hiring apprenticesis a good method to ensure successful suc-cession planning. “As baby boomers retire,we need to backfill that knowledge before acompany’s senior people are gone. It’s im-portant toget thatknowledge transfer inpla-cenow,” stressesHerman.

Another employer benefit of hiring anapprentice is that the Government of Bri-tish Columbia has extended its TrainingTax Credit program to 2017, giving compa-nies who hire apprentices a refundable taxcredit as a financial incentive.

Enablinggrowth in today’s economySkilled trades are the backbone of a know-ledge-based economy. “Everything thatis manufactured, built, or maintained istouched by the hands of skilled tradespe-ople every day,” says Herman. “It’s im-portant to realize that in today’s knowled-ge economy, it’s the how-to economy thatmakes it happen.”

Janice Tober

Publisher:AliceWong BusinessDeveloper: Jesse AdamsonManagingDirector:Martin Kocandrle ProductionDirector:Carlo Ammendolia LeadDesigner:Matthew SenraWebEditor:Camille CoContributors:Ken Donohue, Janice ToberCover Photo:HGTV

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GaryHermanCEO, IndustryTradeAuthority (ITA)

INSIGHT

Wouldyoube interested inawell-payingcareerfilledwithvarietyandopportunity? Perhapsyou’ve alwayswanted tobeyour ownboss.Acareer in theconstruction tradesmight just be foryou.

Doors arewideopen for rewardingcareersThe problem is,only 1 in every 69 highschool students in this country is enteringthe trades,and to solve our shortage ofskilledworkersweneed 1 in 5 to bemakingthis career choice.Consider for amomenthowvaluable

tradespeople are.The schoolyour childrengo to,thehospitalyou relyonwhenyougetsick,and thearenayougo tobe entertained—thesewere all built byahuge teamofconstruction tradespeople.Formillennialswantingmeaningfulwork,this is anoft-overlookedopportunity.

Safety starts early“We need to engage young people early,”saysMikeMcKenna,the ExecutiveDirector of the BC Construction SafetyAlliance.“Construction trades are viableand honourable careers.” The SafetyAlliance offers safety programs,training,and resources to help improve the safetyof over 180,000workers in BC.And in itscommitment to involve young people,it offers an online construction safetytraining systemmodule free of charge tohigh school students.

Ken Donohue

BUILDING A SUCCESSFULCAREER IN CONSTRUCTION

StephenPeelVice PresidentofOperationsat IronsideDesignManufacturing

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MEDIAPLANET 3

Launch your career at NIC

For a full list of programs, visit www.nic.bc.ca or call 1-800-715-0914

Joinery/Cabinetmaking Foundation“I like to give students permission to try new things,to push themselves beyond their experience leveland to experiment.” – Stephen McIntosh,

NIC Instructor and WorldSkills International advisor

Gain in-demand skills and credentials that employers are looking for

Aircraft Structures Technician“I have been incredibly satisfied with the quality

and motivation of NIC’s Aircraft Structuresstudents. I have hired many of them.”– Bill Alder, President, Sealand Aviation

Industrial Automation Technician“NIC’s Industrial Automation program gave me theskills employers are looking for. I had job offers in

Campbell River, Nanaimo and Alberta.”– Mike McLean, Industrial Automation Tech

For today’s graduates,trades careers areopeningdoors to diversecareers, newways toenrich their education andimproved lifestyles.

With the BC 2025 Labour Mar-ketOutlookpredicting 123,000job openings in BC’s tradesand transportation sector overthe next 10years,students canchoose fromdiverse careers.“Trades professionals are

vital to the local economy,”says Cheryl O’Connell,Dean ofTradesandTechnicalProgramsat North Island College (NIC),which offers 80 credit pro-grams, including 19 differenttrades programs at campusesin the Comox Valley,CampbellRiver andPortAlberni.The college regularly re-

views its programs with em-ployers and communitygroups to meet local labourmarket needs. It has also in-stituted work placementsacross foundation programs,connecting students to em-ployers for excellent jobopportunities on graduation.

One high-flying example isthe Aircraft Structures Tech-nician program,which sees itsgraduates go on to find employ-ment. “Of our eight graduatesthisyear,sixhavealreadyfoundemployment,and theother twoare pursuing engineering de-grees,” said David Nilson,NIC’sAircraft Structures instructor.In Campbell River,graduates

help fill local demand for com-paniessuchasSealandAviation,where NIC Aircraft Structuresgraduatesmakeup70percentofthe employees.“I have been in-crediblysatisfiedwith thequal-ity andmotivation of NIC’sAir-craft Structures students,” saidcompanypresident BillAlder.“Ihavehiredmanyof them.”While trades once seemed

at odds with a university de-gree, many students todayfind a trades education com-plementary.For StewartWalker,a recent

NICAircraft Structures gradu-ate, the program encouragedhim to keep learning, whileproviding highly sought afterapplied design and structuralskills that add value to his up-

coming engineering degree.“Once Iwas at NIC,I realized

I really enjoyed learning anddecided to go into engineer-ing,” saidWalker.In contrast, classmate

Emanuele Sipione had longbeen interested in the trades.The more he researched vari-ous programs; he knew thiswas the right one for him.Sipione’s advice for anyone

seeking a trades education isto be patient. “If you are goodwith your hands, and have agood head on your shoulders,you’ll be successful,” he says.Sipione has little time off af-ter graduating, as he and acouple of his fellow graduateswill be jetting off to Kelowna,where theyhave beenhired asapprentices for KFAerospace.Still other students choose

from a huge diversity in thetypes of trades available basedon their desired lifestyle, fromwelding andprofessional cook-ing tomakingfine furniture.Briana Hayes, for example,

was working in advertising forover a decade,when she need-ed a change. She left Toronto

and moved to Campbell Riverto study welding at NIC.Thesedays,when she isn’t busy learn-ingcoreweldingskills,she is ex-ploringVancouver Island by ca-noewithherdogbyherside.Herclassroomsarefilledwith

students in every demograph-ic.Frommid-career profession-als like her to high school stu-dents earning their credentialthrough BC’s Youth in Tradesprogram, recent high schoolgraduates and retirees,develop-ing their skills and turninghob-bies intostartupbusinesses.“Trades and technical

skills are integral to society,”says O’Connell. “Look aroundat the infrastructure —theroads, buildings, bridges, ve-hicles, and the technologylinking all that we do. Theseskills are essential to oureconomy and the job pros-pects are very good.Once stu-dents have identified theirareas of passion, the oppor-tunities are endless.”

Ken Donohue

TRADES CAREERS OPEN WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES

“If you aregoodwith your hands,andhaveagoodheadonyourshoulders, you’ll be successful.”

—Emanuele Sipione, NICGraduate

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HGTV’s hosts KateCampbell from DeckedOut and Bryan Reid Sr.from Timber King sharetips and traits for thenext generation of tradeworkers.

MediaplanetWhatqualities does a successfultradespersonhave?Kate Campbell You truly haveto be a multifaceted person thatcan and will wear many hats, es-pecially as a tradesperson run-ning your own business. A couplequalities would be dedication,work ethic, and vision. They canwalk on to a job site, see whathas to be done, and can picturethe finished project. Communi-cation is also huge as a trades-person — with your colleagues,homeowners, and other sub-trades. Business sense is anotherquality that will allow you to besuccessful in the trades, evenwhen working as an employeefor another company. You need

to know how to quote, what thejob costs are, how valuable yourtime is, how to run a job efficient-ly — even if it’s just to understandand appreciate how a job site andbusiness works. Problem solvingskills would top the list for me aswell and the constant challengeon site is one of the reasons I lovewhat I do. Every day and everyjob is different. You’re presentedwith new problems and need towork through different scenariosand solutions daily which meansyou’re always learning.Bryan Reid Passionate aboutwhat youwant to do. People in thetrades play a very important rolein the lives of others. If it wasn’tfor the many trades that buildour infrastructure and shapeour lives, people would not havebeautiful cars, highways to driveon, or a houses to live in. Origin-ally looked down upon as menialwork, the trades are now recog-nized as being an invaluable partof our society. The trade industrymakes theworld go around.

Work ethic too — it’s toughwork. Specifically, log buildingis very physical, working withextremely sharp tools and heavyobjects. A tradesperson must al-ways be aware of what’s happen-ing around them.

MPWhat tips andadvicedoyouhave for those looking toget into the trades?KC TRY IT! Take a course, learnsome basic skills. Seek out an ap-prenticeship. Get paid to learn in-stead of leaving university withloads of debt seeking out employ-ment that you may not get. Talkto others in the trades and finda mentor. Do your research butdon’t be afraid to jump in and pickup a power tool, you never knowwhere it may lead!BR Make your choice and go forit. Don’t procrastinate and setyour sights high. Pick the tradeyou like, be the best there is, andnever settle for less. As Sir Win-ston Churchill said, “Never, never,never give up.”

HGTVHostsKateCampbell andBryanReid Let theYouthKnowWhyTheyShouldAspire tobeTradeProfessionals

We support skills training so you can get it right. The first time.

MCABC is the only association dedicated to the mechanical industry.mcabc.org

Read more from Kate and Bryan at careersandeducation.ca

“Don’t procrastinate and set your sightshigh. Pick the trade you like, be the bestthere is, and never settle for less.”

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