Canadian Construction Association’s Civil Infrastructure Council last week launched a new website, http://www.careersincivilconstruction.ca, aimed mainly at high school and college students but applicable to anyone looking for information on civil construction careers. Civil construction, also called heavy construction, has to do with infrastructure like roads, tunnels, bridges and dams. “The civil construction sector offers a whole gamut of careers from project managers to technicians, estimators, to heavy equipment operators. This site provides young people exploring career options with information about the industry and the resources they will need to get their careers in civil construction started,” said Gilbert Brulotte, Chair of the CCA’s Civil Infrastructure Council.
Hear Why People Choose Civil Construction
The website complements numerous efforts underway nationwide to promote civil construction. Featured prominently on the website are video testimonials by young adults who explain why they chose civil construction. Many of the stories emphasize the endless opportunities for advancement. For example Marcel tells about how it all started as a summer job after high school and how he has worked his way up to project manager, making good money and managing a team of people. In one of the videos, Michael Atkinson, President of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA), highlights why construction is such an attractive field for young people: “We have an aging workforce. We are told that by the year 2018, we are going to have to find 400,000 new people just to replace those retiring and to keep pace with the demand for our industry. ”
Read More about Civil Careers
The website has a section, divided into corporate functions, road and highway, tunnel as well as sewer and watermain, that describes civil careers. Under each area, several careers are featured with information on duties, work conditions, essential skills and education. A salary range is included for each career. “This website is a great tool for guidance counsellors and local construction associations to use for career education at the high school and college levels,” said Mr. Brulotte.
Find Local Resources
The website provides a central launching point for information on civil construction careers. On the homepage, a user can choose a province and drill down to their city to explore resources like government departments and programs, local colleges and associations. “We wanted to gather resources in one place to make it easier for people to find information on civil construction careers,” said Brulotte and continued, “I hope that this website helps attract young people as well as others contemplating changing careers to civil construction.”