By Jeanne Kempffer
Greetings to our readers and members of the BCA, it has been my privilege to be a member of the BCA and a member of your Board of Directors. The community and commitment of our membership is inspiring, we continue as the Board of Directors to listen to our memberships concerns, struggles and successes to improve both our services and continue our involvement at all levels of government to have your voice heard.
Our most important investment as employers are the individuals that pick up the tools of the trade each and every day at times working against the clock, weather and supply shortages to construct our roads and buildings. The struggles to retain and maintain employees is costly, our provincial government has focused more resources and funding to promote the trades at both grade school and high school levels this past year but we have a long way to go and we will continue our efforts.
We are proud as an association to facilitate the opportunity for our educators and students to experience firsthand the opportunities and the viability of a career in the trades. In May of this year the BCA along with the SMCDSB & SCDSB co-op teachers and guidance counsellors came together for the first Educator Construction Day event which ran over four days. This initiative hosted by the BCA partnered with SCHCA was a great success, thank you to all our members that skillfully guided our tours to the members that participated on the panel sessions.
There were great takeaways from these sessions for all participants- a better understanding of the needs of the educator and the employer, diversity in the workplace and the shortage of co-operative working opportunities being some of the most common talking points. We have more than 25 BCA member companies that have opened their doors to our Simcoe County students, the need is great and we welcome any interested members to reach out to the offices to discuss the opportunities with Alison.
A special thank you to the BCA Team, Alison Smith our Executive Director, Bryony Buchanan- Membership Services Coordinator and Alicia Blow – Plan Room/Safety Training Coordinator, for their continued ingenuity in providing opportunity for connection and support to our members and associates. In this past year we have launched Membership Monday, Bi-Yearly Newsletter editions and introduced our Family Event functions from the Maple Syrup event, Elmvale Zoo and the Rounds Ranch, along with all the standard offerings from the Five Things and the Lunch N Learns the team strives to offer a variety of events and educational opportunities.
The candy bowl is always full, the staff invites you to come in and explore all the offerings available. We welcome you to participate in any of our sub-committees- Charitable, Event, Public Relations & Business Development, Government Procurement, Health & Safety or to join us on the second Tuesday of each month at our Board meetings or our Young Leaders or Women in Construction groups. There is something for everyone and we would equally like to hear your thoughts, opinions and share your experiences.
The summer has raced by at record speed and it is hard to believe as I put thought to paper that the next opportunity to gather will be our annual BCA Community Builders Barbeque this September, just outside a month away. We hope that you and your employees have the opportunity to join us in the festivities.
Wishing all continued health, prosperity and a productive construction season, we look forward to the next opportunity to connect.
