INDIGENOUS RELATIONS
One of the challenges facing construction companies in
Canada is a potential labour shortage in the coming
years. According to a national report from BuildForce
Canada, an estimated 257,100 construction workers will retire in the
next decade, while only 227,600 workers will enter the construction
workforce during this time — a shortfall of nearly 30,000 people.
One of the country’s leading construction and infrastructure development
companies, Aecon, has a solution for this problem.
“Canada’s workforce is aging quickly,” said John Bonin, director
of Indigenous relations for Aecon. “We need to start looking at the
Indigenous population as a way to start backfilling our workforce.”
Bonin says while Indigenous communities represent the fastest and
youngest growing population in Canada, they often tend to be overlooked.
“The Indigenous population is largely untapped, and I think that it’s
important for companies like Aecon to be leaders in looking to that resource
to fill our needs,” he said. “Aecon is one of the largest infrastructure
companies in Canada, and we’re always looking for employees who
have certain key skill sets and diverse backgrounds. It helps us with our
infrastructure projects when we have a really diverse group of employees
being able to support us.”
SURIYO MUNKAEW / 123RF
thinkbigmagazine.ca | Quarter 1 2021 | Think BIG 33
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