advised on what’s needed in the field.” “We want to educate people young before they enter the workforce to plan their pathway,” says Mitch. “Our primary objective is to get young people to look positively into the trades.” They are also looking into how they can work with new Canadians and the trades as well. Supporting women in trades is an important initiative for Rebecca, specifically. To achieve greater women participation, she explains that they are promoting the industry as a different environment than it was even 10 years ago. On that topic, Rebecca is particularly pleased with the PKHBA’s new Women in Trades committee. “Its purpose is to raise the profile of women in trades and provide support to thrive,” she says. “The power of women connecting and supporting each other is unmatched. We want to foster relationships in the construction industry and the trades to younger generations.” To this end, the PKHBA has a mentorship program for members to talk to other female members in the trades, and also have mentors go to the schools and talk to the youth interested in the trades. “We’re all here to work together,” says Rebecca. The PKBHA’s commitment to education includes education-on-demand online training, and they share HBA-approved training from various partners such as BuildAbility (https://www. trainingbuilders.ca/course-listing), EnerQuality (https://www.enerquality.ca/education/), and the CHBA (https://www.chba.ca/net-zero-training/). “We have webinars coming in 2024 on where to find and how to recruit new hires – training, retention, recruitment,” says Rebecca. “We hope that coupled with education; labor will become less of an issue for our members over time.” “We are also partnering with the federal association to also do some energy efficiency and net zero training for our members to help meet larger climate goals,” she adds. “We did net zero training for renovations in the spring of 2023 with the Durham home builders association, and there are several other training programs upcoming.” The PKBHA is also keeping up on changes to the building code in the area of energy efficiency. That’s important, Rebecca says, because “you have to design a whole house as a system.” “Everything has to work together. Builders have to take in the big picture in the early design stages. It is better for the environment and more efficient for the homeowner.” Furthermore, green initiatives will be a large part of education in the trades now and into the future. “We will share new opportunities, innovation and techniques to keep our members at the forefront of the industry,” Rebecca concludes. JULY 2024
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