Earlier this year, the NWT and Nunavut Construction Association had the honour to make a presentation during the GNWT's Labour Force Development Symposium. During the event, our association participated on a panel illustrating the labour force challenges of the Northern construction sector.

The construction association strongly supports active, on-the-job training such as the northern apprenticeship programs or project management certification.

In addition, our members support being involved in these various training initiatives.

Our primary objective as an association above anything else is to develop capacity in the Northern construction sector.

During the presentation, comments were made that not all of our members support all training programs, and this generated some feedback from various stakeholders.

However, the subject of training is a very broad topic and there are many different interpretations. For example, there is on- and off-the-job training, there are programs that the employer is expected to contribute considerably to, and there are programs that are not offered in the NWT or Nunavut. All of these different programs generate different responses.

Although our association has not conducted an official survey, as an association we recognize the importance of active involvement with programs that have proven track records and a strong history in the industry such as the Northern apprenticeship programs.

People, community governments, industry or small companies all have a different interpretation of the issue of capacity building.

To the construction association, capacity building includes the development of local labour and a skilled workforce.

Anyone who has lived in the North for any given time recognizes the enormous challenges when it comes to skilled workforce development and recruitment.

The construction sector employs on average from 2,100 to 2,500 people any given year.

This results in a huge impact on the NWT's GDP and employment numbers.

The construction association believes we are a good conduit between the employer, the workers and the training organizations such as Aurora College.

Our members are the experts in the area of construction and can promote the skilled trades or other training effectively, not only to the employees, but the industry as a whole. Our territory has been leading most parts of Canada in regards to developing standards in the workplace, however in the area of construction, much more work needs to be done.

We need our workforce certified. Getting certified is good for the North, it's good for the respective industries and it is good for the employee.

Whether it is a NWT-recognized certificate or the national Red Seal Program, we need to continue maintaining the skilled training standards in the construction sector.

We can also be a conduit even after the workers are certified. We can provide a commonality between employers looking for skilled and unskilled labourers and for small communities and organizations looking to train people.

Future mega projects are going to be a huge challenge for the capacity building of the territories' skilled labour force. Programs such as Northern apprenticeship programs will be critical in developing Northern capacity to meet these demands.