2150 Richardson Side Rd. Carp, ON Canada K0A 1L0 t. +1 613 831 1736 tf.+1 800 267 5515 salescarp@mconproducts.com www.mconproducts.com CONCEPT DESIGN SOLUTIONS BUILDING SUSTAINABLE PRECAST CONCRETE INFRASTRUCTURE E ducation is a core mandate for OSWCA. As a prime example, our annual OSWCA Conference, to be held in February 2019, offers industry insights and current “you-need-to-know” information, along with appropriate time set aside for business networking. OSWCA’s Conference keynote speaker is Mark Barnett, President of Jamaica’s National Water Commission, Jamaica’s primary potable water and wastewater service provider. This keynote address promises to be truly enlightening. Jamaica faces diverse sewer and water- main and clean water challenges, some similar and some quite different from those of Ontario, providing attendees with new ideas and innovative solutions. As another example, throughout the year OSWCA offers a multitude of courses. While some of the courses offer core knowledge, we ensure there’s a number of new courses. Our industry is rapidly innovating, so OSWCA courses anticipate the skills our members will require. EDUCATING STUDENTS In addition, as you will read in the feature article on page 18, OSWCA and our local Associations are thinking ahead, taking proactive measures to ensure we will have the human resources and skill sets required by our companies and our industry. In this capacity, we are active volunteers in the effort to attract new people to our industry. That’s why at OSWCA we’re so proud volunteers from our local Associations act as the “quarterback of the flow of information” to high school students at Construction Days and other events, often through the Ontario Construction Careers Alliance (OCCA). We’re excited to show students our industry has the potential to provide them with a lifelong, rewarding “career” much more than a “job.” There’s nothing as immediate and understandable as hearing someone describe their experience, which puts our industry into context and highlights all the opportunities the sewer and watermain industry offers as a career destination. REGISTER FOR THE OSWCA CONFERENCE I am looking forward to learning with our members at the OSWCA Conference in February 2019. Please take a few moments to review the Conference materials in this issue of The Undergrounder and register for the Conference. It promises to be rewarding! FULFILLING OSWCA’S EDUCATION MANDATE From the OSWCA annual Conference, to a long list of courses from which to choose and educating students about a career in our industry, OSWCA is active on many fronts GIOVANNI CAUTILLO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OSWCA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 14 UNDERGROUNDER Fall 2018