Professional Development/Skills Training

October 8, 2008

RAIC aims to educate owners and clients about the value architects bring to building projects

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has recently appointed a task force to develop guidelines to help architects and their clients negotiate appropriate fees for architectural services, writes RAIC executive director Jon Hobbs.

October 8, 2008

Winnipeg Centre MP decries use of foreign trades on portions of airport expansion project

A Winnipeg MP claims temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are displacing local tradesmen on an airport expansion project, while the subcontractor who hired the workers says the MP is electioneering.

October 1, 2008

Australian and Canadian apprenticeship systems face similar challenges

It is with interest that I read Alison Rougeau’s column “Negative perceptions of apprenticeship training need to change,” from the July 30 issue of the Journal of Commerce, writes Malcolm Dawson, a carpentry trade teacher from Melbourne, Australia.

September 29, 2008

CCA plans break with coalition lobby on apprenticeships

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) says it will look beyond unified lobbying efforts to strengthen Canada’s college apprenticeship system once the federal election ends.

September 24, 2008

Apprentices join together at Ships Point for National Apprenticeship Contest

Victoria’s Ryan O’Hara wields his hammer during the National Apprenticeship Contest for carpentry, drywall and millwrights at Ships Point in Victoria B.C.’s

September 24, 2008

Certificate of Recognition program ready to help small firms earn WorkSafe BC rebates

The Certificate of Recognition (COR) is a voluntary incentive program for employers and workers. It is run by the Construction Safety Association of B.C. (CSABC) and sponsored by the province’s occupational health and safety authority.

September 22, 2008

Bantrel makes significant progress on Shell Scotford Upgrader Expansion 1

Just five years after opening a heavy oil upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Shell Canada is well on its way to completing its first expansion.

September 15, 2008

Residential electrical work in British Columbia performed without permits

Contractors operating in the underground economy are undertaking more than one-third of all residential electrical installations in B.C.

September 15, 2008

Agreement funds training for low-skilled workers in Alberta

The federal government and the Alberta government announced on September 2 that they signed a $316 million agreement to help workers improve their skills and get better jobs.

September 15, 2008

Unions hiding behind privacy and rights

This letter is in response to a story entitled Unionized Workers Subject to Drug Policythat appeared in the Journal of Commerce on August 27, 2008.

September 15, 2008

Fatality during early stages of Alberta oilsands project start-up

A 47-year-old contractor died on a construction site at an oilsands project in northern Alberta after being trapped underwater in an excavator.