b'HUMAN RESOURCESThe HR struggleAggregate companies need to pull out all the stopsBy Matthew Bradfordto attract and retain new talentT hetalentcrunchisclampingwhocannotnecessarilyaffordtohaveaVincePolce,HRtalentacquisition downoneveryindustry,yetdecreased income for four months of thespecialistwithWalkerIndustries,hasalso few are experiencing the degreeyear or are unable to find alternate workrecognized the need to make the next gener-ofpressureasrecruitersintheduring that period. ationawareoftheiropportunitieswithin trades.Thisiscertainlytruethe aggregate industry. While he says aware-forheadhuntersintheaggregatesector.Thegenerallackofawarenessforness is growing, employers still face years of Employersintheindustryarebeingthetradesamonghighschoolandpost- misconceptions and under-representation. increasingly challenged to raise awarenesssecondarystudentsisanotherobstacle. forindustryopportunitiesandconnectWiththedigitaleconomyontherise,[Theaggregateindustry]isntreally withup-and-comingprofessionalstomosthighschoolsarepushingstudentssomething kids go to school for, explains ensure a steady level of skilled labour.away from the trades and into technology- Polce. They dont graduate and say I want focused university or college programs.to be a quarry supervisor or I want to be Attracting talent in both the aggregatea haul truck driver even though there are miningandconstructionindustriesisaCollege or university isnt for everyone,very good-paying jobs in the field. Thats struggleeveryday,saysKellyGeorge,andwewillalwaysneedskilledtrades- partly due to the fact that guidance coun-humanresourcemanagerwithHaroldpeopletohelpbuildourcommunities,sellors in high school are telling these kids SutherlandConstructionLtd.Forone,notesGeorge.Althoughtechnologyisthey have to go to college or university, as oursisprimarilyaseasonalbusiness,important, it cannot build a road, repair awell as the fact that there is still a stigma whichmakesitdifficulttoattractsomewater main, or repair a truck that is neededattached to taking the trades route.individuals, especially those with familiesto deliver aggregate to our customers. 20 AVENUESWINTER 2020'