PRACTICE LEADERS
on the top three challenges for Canadian industry
Three BTY Regional Directors share insights on what they see as our industry’s top issues – and how they are responding. Recently ranked North America’s top ranked Lenders Technical Advisor in 2016 (and in sixth place globally up from 28th the year before), BTY has opened eight new offices internationally over the past two years. This rapid growth is driving the property and infrastructure advisory firm to grapple daily with challenges facing companies committed to growth in Canada’s, and the world’s, expanding construction industries. BTY now serves private and public sector clients worldwide through 18 offices, eight of them across Canada. Three of the firms Directors: Darren Cash, Regional Director, Eastern Region; Michael Gabert, Regional Director, Prairies Region; and Connor Falls, Regional Director, Pacific Region, offer their views on industry issues that keep them up at night.
#1:
Competition for top talent “Competition for the best and brightest Professional Quantity Surveyors and Construction Estimator Certified professionals is intense,” says Darren Cash. “There is a sizeable and evergrowing scarcity of qualified professionals in Canada. Every firm in our profession
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that wants to grow feels the lack acutely. We are no exception.” A major reason why demand for qualified PQSs and CECs has far outstripped the supply is the robust growth of the Canadian construction industry. It has been expanding steadily – apart from a slight dip in 2015–2016 that was due in large part to the sharp decline in oil patch investment – with average annual growth of 3.6% during the preceding four years.1 Another driver of competition is that the post-secondary system is not structured to provide enough ‘ready-made’ candidates to go through the PQS qualification process. • As construction increases, so will demand The competition for top talent won’t be abating anytime soon with existing multi-year, multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects under way in the transportation and energy sectors. There is also much more to come under federal and provincial government plans for large infrastructure investments across the country in general, and particularly in renewable energy. With higher immigration and higher foreign investment helping to sustain demand for residential, commercial
and institutional building, Canada’s construction industry can look forward to continued robust growth. For our industry, this means battling to attract and retain the top talent that will help individual firms grow. What’s the answer? In the short term, importing talent is an option, but an expensive one. Another is paying higher salaries, but that’s only part of the solution. • Championing company culture that builds career growth “We have focused on championing a culture that creates opportunities for our people to acquire new skills that can help advance their careers,” Cash says. “The fact that BTY works on some of the biggest and most complex projects in Canada is a definite draw. We also provide training and education, as well as ongoing mentorship to attract and retain top talent. We have a very entrepreneurial culture, and having fun is a big part of it. Team camaraderie is very strong here. You are expected to speak up, and can expect to be listened to.” That support for acquiring new skills and mentoring professional development has enabled BTY to expand its service line, develop expertise in new sectors
Spring 2017 | www.ciqs.org | CONSTRUCTION ECONOMIST | 23
