which only shows signs of growing. In some cases, companies have now been squeezed into the unenviable position of turning down contracts due to lack of manpower. This too is a trend that is likely to grow. “For the first time, we’re starting to turn down work just because we don’t have the people,” said McKendrick. “Subcontractors are all filled up, so then they raise the prices. Everyone is paying more for less talent. It’s a terrific time to be a younger person in the industry right now.” In particular, Coco said project managers and labourers represent the shallowest parts of the general talent pool and she pointed to immigrants and women as obvious targets for future employment. Based on current market demand, construction work can provide an excellent income for skilled labourers, and more needs to be done to make young people aware of this in order to attract them to the trade. “We should be in the educational system right out of the gate,” stressed Coco. “Our labourers make $1.10 a minute: that’s not bad money!” When it comes to training newcomers, panel participants readily expressed their views on what works – and what doesn’t. According to Smith, the best way to transfer knowledge within a company is with traditional on-site training. “I still believe experiential learning is the best,” he said. EMBRACINGTECHNOLOGY New and emerging technologies will also play a key role in the changing face of Toronto’s construction scene, agreed the panelists. It is one of the most important trends making an impact on the future of the industry – all the more so because construction has been slow to catch on compared to other sectors. That has to change. “You have to be ahead of your clients and employees, which means being courageous, standing alone, taking risks. The architectural community has embraced it more quickly,” said Smith. “You have to drive it from the top; you have to watch who the early adopters are and promote them.” “You always have to embrace tech- nology,” agreed Coco. “You always aim for the best solution, and that’s been a big challenge for us internally.” Coco added that she has seen the positive impact of technology like drones (“So you don’t have surveyors out there”) but emphasized that not all technology provides an easy answer. In the case of autonomous vehicles, for instance, there can be some inherent challenges, such as insurance coverage. McKendrick praised the innovative technology being implemented in new hospital builds, which have often embraced tablet and cloud computing, building information modeling (BIM) and immersive 3-D environments. “Hospitals are pushing us to go further and further,” he said. “It’s not going to go backwards; it’s only going to go forwards. I believe we’re going to have bugs, but we’re going to work through them.” Asked by the seminar’s moderator, YCL Committee vice chair Ben Morse, head of sales with Tread, to share key points about all-important leader- ship, all three panelists pointed to the need for a more aspirational form of leadership than what has traditionally existed in the Toronto construction trade. Smith named three key traits in particular that reflect a good leader: an ability to lead without authority; to get out of the way and let employees do their jobs; and to “be yourself… niceness is way underrated as a leader- ship skill.” “Construction is not about fighting; it’saboutplanning,”addedMcKendrick, who pointed to relationship-building and dispute resolution as critical skills for any leader. He also stressed that despite the advent of cutting-edge tech- nology, the construction industry will always rely on the intuitive know-how that people bring to the picture. “With all the changes and with [things like] Artificial Intelligence, it’s still going to be people who make the difference,” he said. In wrapping up, the three panelists offered some general advice for young professionals in the audience, pointing to the importance of a positive attitude, good team-building skills, and an eye for opportunity as key skills to develop. “It’s not your technical skills that will help you move up in the business; it’s going to be your attitude, how you interact with a client, how you solve a problem with a contractor,” said McKendrick. “Those are all soft skills that really matter.” “You have to have leadership skills,” emphasized Coco, “You also have to love the business, be able to work with people as a team and have strong communica- tions skills. And if you’re a woman, I think you have a lot of advantages right now.” Smith’s advice was to be flexible, to seek out myriad opportunities rather than following a rigid, sequential career path. “Don’t try to follow a linear career path: bounce around, try some things, go where you’re needed, fill a gap, look for the opportunities,” he advised. In his concluding remarks, TCA presi- dent and CEO John Mollenhauer aptly noted that we live in interesting times. “We’re in an industrial revolution – I’ve heard it characterized as an exponential era – and we’re in one of the 10 busiest construction centres in the world,” he said. “I think we are just on the cusp of change like we’ve never seen before.” |BD YCL SEMINAR EVENT SPONSORS PCL Constructors Canada Inc. Coco Paving Inc., Infrastructure Ontario Tread EllisDon Toronto Construction Association Young Construction Leaders Builders' Digest Quarter 4 2018 | 25