By Jessica Kirby, Editor
It seems like just yesterday I was reading the results of the 2023 Sheet Metal Journal Industry Survey and sketching out my notes for the first issue of the year. (Fun fact: the 2024 Survey is now open! Please visit surveymonkey.com/r/MTTK3Y5 and reply by January 1 to have your say in SMJ and SMACNA-BC programming for 2024.)
When you are young and just launching your career, when you have small kids, or when you are spending too much time at work, the wisest people around you say: “Slow down. It won’t last forever.” In our youth and impatience, we say, “Yeah, yeah,” and take off in a new direction doing Mach 9 with phone bills, diapers, and purchase orders flying in the wind behind us. The elders don’t argue our idiocy. They just smile… knowing.
That knowledge—the unspoken knowing that comes with experience—is at risk in the construction industry as retirement dwindles the supply of skilled labour. Yes, we have great training centres and fabulous contractor mentors, but the wisdom that comes from living and doing is not taught in schools. This is creating more diverse needs on the recruitment front, and the industry is getting creative. (Even Premier Eby is in on it, mandating flush toilets at construction sites with 25 or more workers—see page 11). But there is still much to be done. What is the best way to attract and retain skilled labour? Send me your thoughts at jessica.kirby@pointonemedia.com.
For this issue, the year’s final, we caught up with Steve Davis, Local 280 organizer, to discuss how the Local has found success in recruiting women to the trade (page 12). Steve mentioned talking about the sheet metal trade with delegates at a career fair, and I asked him whether any of the women he spoke to shared the reasons they were hesitant about the trades or described barriers they perceived to pursuing this career path. His answer was gold: “I didn’t really ask those kinds of questions. I’m very passionate about our trade. So… I didn’t think about barriers or limitations—I was just focused on delivering good information about our trade to anyone who was interested.” This is such an important perspective. Indeed, certain barriers only exist for some, and we must address those barriers. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t lead with the wonderful opportunities trades hold for anyone with a passion for hard work, creativity, and a deep sense of accomplishment.
Go ahead: name one sector of business in Canada besides construction where people performing work are routinely expected wait four months or longer to receive payment, while a number of subcontractors wait for their payment in a lengthening cascade of impatience and frustration. Impossible. Prompt payment legislation is unfolding across Canada at various rates of speed and efficacy, and of all the regions discussing it, BC is still in a debate-centred holding pattern. Check out the update on page 14 for the status of PPL in Canada and watch future issues for a review of how exactly current PPL provinces are making out now that they’ve had time to adjust.
Although it has been an ongoing concern for over a decade, the labour shortage struggle is real and government, non-profits, and associations like SMACNA and SMART are getting creative about how to bring people in. Check out the Heavy Metal Summer Experience article on page 17. This is a SMACNA-developed program that has caught on like wildfire in the United States. Past SMACNA president Angie Simon has vowed to bring the program to Canada and did so this summer in Ontario; I am sure our members will soon be hearing from her, if they haven’t already.
Also check out the news item on page 11 for some additional recruitment and outreach activities the Sheet Metal Workers’ Training Centre was involved in over the summer and fall.
As we move into the final months of the year and reflect on the lightning speed with which 2023 graced us, it is easy to see how quickly the days, weeks, and opportunities come and go. My wish for you as a new year dons is that you slow down. Breathe deeply and make time to treasure the moments that matter most. Have a visit. Watch the sun rise. Buy the treat. Life is short but it doesn’t have to feel like it.
In closing the issue and the year, Lara and I wish you a warm and restful holiday and a prosperous and enlightening 2024. ■
