President’s Message
By Randy Walden, President, OIRCA

Looking Forward

In recent years there has been a great deal written on subjects relating to the shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry.  Nowhere is this shortage more prevalent than in the ICI roofing sector.  The roofing industry in Ontario in particular has been on a pretty heavy workload over the past ten or so years.  The last two have been downright exceptional years.

A unique aspect to our industry is the level of re-roofing that is prevalent.  While OIRCA contractor members enjoy a mixture of business, which includes new construction, re-roofing, service and maintenance work, the majority of activity tends to settle around re-roofing contracts.  In Ontario we have a very large inventory of existing buildings and many have reached the age where they are being re-roofed for the first, second or even third time.

We have also witnessed a great deal of infrastructure dollars trickling down from the federal government and that has resulted in a great deal of renovation work.  School boards, hospitals, municipalities and the like have taken advantage of this windfall and an unprecedented amount of re-roofing work has been tendered over the past couple of years.

Now here it is where we come back to the shortage of skilled workers and our aging workforce.  It is important to keep in mind that roofing is not one of the glamorous trades like electrical, plumbing and sheet metal.  Roofing is hard, backbreaking work that must be performed outside and often in less than desirable weather conditions, year round.

Yes we can find bodies.  For every ten workers that we hire though, we are fortunate if one is a keeper.   And that keeper, is just a labourer, they are not qualified roofers.  So our supervision now consists of literally having to look over the shoulder of every new prospect just to make sure we maintain the level of quality of workmanship that the industry has come to expect from OIRCA members.

As for those other nine that we reject, consider the training, which includes WHMIS, fall arrest and propane not to mention the mandatory safety equipment.  Before that new hire has worked one man-hour they have cost their new company in excess of $500.00!

We are encouraged by the work our national body, the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA) has been doing with groups such as the Construction Sector Council (CSC) where they currently have under trial a program on Orientation and Pre-Apprenticeship.  That program is aimed at the new recruit and tries to address issues of retention.  It is expected that in 2007 the two groups will be making recommendations about implementing a national program on orientation and pre-apprenticeship.

CRCA has also been actively looking at the various options toward bringing foreign workers into Canada.  New immigration has been identified as a potential source of future labour for the Canadian construction industry, yet as the CSC has noted “language barriers, concerns surrounding the recognition of credentials, safety issues, and a shortage of training in Canadian construction techniques and skills upgrading limit this to a long term solution to labour shortages”. 

Hopefully CRCA will work with government to alter the antiquated “point system” thereby recognizing similar skills and experiences with foreign workers.  We need more options for those who have been trained in apprenticeship programs similar to those in Canada, however their skills still need to be formally recognized.  CSC has recommended that we integrate industry-training programs with new settlement and training services.

Generally speaking, people find themselves working in the roofing industry quite by accident.  It is not a career choice many are likely to make.  That being said, roofing is a noble and important trade.  We must exhaust all avenues in our attempts to secure a solid workforce for the future.  Whether those workers come from some other country, our Aboriginal population or our community close to home, the future of the roofing industry is in their hands.

Increasingly we find that as roofing contractors we are competing with other industries with similar demographic profiles and which face similar labour shortages in the future.  Workers find the notion of working in a factory much more desirable than being on a roof in minus degree January or the sweltering heat of August.

In Ontario we have the added burden of losing workers to the west where booming construction markets offer incentives, perks and more attractive pay packages.  Clearly those demands will disturb the balance that is already tenuous within Ontario’s borders.  CSC has suggested, “the extent to which mobility may draw down Ontario’s supply can be apparent in the immediate future”.

To compete with those industries and provinces that are attempting to attract and retain the same groups of people, our industry here in Ontario needs to raise its profile and promote roofing as a viable career choice, especially for young people.

OIRCA, CRCA and other groups who depend on the roofing trade must take a leadership role in addressing the needs of our industry.  In this new reality, fewer workers and more work threatens to limit our ability to adequately service our clients who are the purchasers of roofing services in this province. 

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