TRADES TALK

A Q&A with Industry Training Authority CEO Shelley Gray TRADES TALK

HAYLEY WOODIN S helley Gray was named CEO of the Industry Training Authority (ITA) – the provincial government agency charged with facilitating trades and industry job training in B.C. – in March 2019,

after starting out as director of customer experience in 2013 and being promoted to chief operating officer in 2017.

Gray spoke with BIV Magazine about the skilled trades shortage, making the ITA a more performance-oriented organization and promoting inclusion in the trades.

Q: WHAT HAS DEFINED YOUR FIRST YEAR IN THE ROLE?

A: A lot of my focus is around continuing to pivot the organization to be very performance driven – to ensure that we’re delivering the best trades training and apprenticeship system to the province. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done around inclusion. It’s something that is really close to my heart personally in terms of making sure we’re advancing and sustaining a trades training system that’s inclusive and welcoming for all.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BARRIERS TO GREATER INCLUSION?

A: I think in some cases there’s a lot of “You don’t know what you don’t know.” In some cases, there’s an environment that has just existed in one way for a very long time where people don’t necessarily recognize the barriers that do exist. In other cases, there’s just some overt prejudice and behaviours that should not be tolerated in this day and age. You’ve got both sides of things that you’re trying to bring awareness to and help move forward.

Q: HOW FAR HAVE WE COME FROM THE STIGMA THAT SKILLED TRADES AREN’T CAREERS?

A: We have come a long way; there’s still a long way to go. But I think for many people in B.C., they see the potential in terms of earnings. They see the fact that you can have a career that you can tailor once you get your credential. Once you’ve finished and you’re a journey professional, you can make six figures easily in an electrical career for the rest of your life. That’s a lot more than some post-secondary careers come out and make. I think that the awareness of that is really growing.

Q: THAT MAKES ME PICTURE THE STEREOTYPE OF THE PHD STUDENT WORKING AT STARBUCKS.

A: Exactly. All education’s a good thing, but I think some people are starting to look at it and say to their own kids the return on investment of some degrees is probably not there in the same way than if you go and pursue a skilled trade. We’re doing a lot more work with institutions to allow people to get some credit toward a business degree. You can go on and own your own business from that.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AROUND BECOMING A MORE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED ORGANIZATION?

A: It’s still early days but it’s about making sure everybody who is going into the apprenticeship system is set up for the best chance of success, and every dollar that we’re spending from taxpayers’ money is being best spent to get us the best outcomes. In a labour market that’s at full employment, it’s really key that we’re continuing to innovate and develop

the system in a way that allows people to be attracted to jobs and skilled trades.

Q: HOW SIGNIFICANT IS B.C.’S SKILLED TRADES SHORTAGE?

A: There certainly is a skilled trades shortage – when you look at the 10-year outlook, that certainly isn’t going away. You have a lot of retiring baby boomers. We’ve got a lot of significant projects in the province – LNG [liquefied natural gas], Site C, investments around YVR [Vancouver International Airport], hospital projects, infrastructure development. The skilled trades shortage exists and will continue to exist.

Q: WHAT DO YOU HEAR FROM INDUSTRY MOST FREQUENTLY IN TERMS OF THE CHALLENGES THEY’RE FACING?

A: It’s really around the shortage of workers. And I think that’s also why it’s so important – an economic imperative – that we’re casting a wider net into where there are people who may want to pursue skilled trades careers.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEWER WAYS THE ITA REACHES OUT TO GROUPS THAT MAY NOT TRADITIONALLY HAVE SEEN THEMSELVES IN A CAREER IN TRADES?

A: We have very strong youth-in-trades programs, and our numbers have doubled over the years. We just recently hired a director for women in trades who will really be able to champion that. We’ve got a whole bunch of initiatives that will come out in 2020 around that piece. On the Indigenous front, we’re doing a lot of MOUs [memorandums of understanding] with various nations and are really trying to understand what they need: to bring training to the local area, to have remote-based learning and to pace it out tailored to the needs of the community. Some of those things … we see as being innovative, of really trying to change the way we deliver trades training to the province.

Q: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF SKILLED TRADES WORK LOOK LIKE?

A: For us, the future of work involves a lot more technology, in training and the workplace. We’re working a lot with the post-secondary system to do more blended learning, with more VR [virtual reality], AR [augmented reality] and technology overall. For training, a lot of it’s done through simulators now. There’s going to continue to be a bigger blend of how trades and tech fit together.

Shelley Gray, CEO of the Industry Training Authority since last March, says she is focused on

“continuing to pivot the organization to be very performance driven” • CHUNG CHOW

Q: WHY IS YOUR WORK MEANINGFUL TO YOU?

A: I didn’t have any background in skilled trades prior to coming to work for ITA. I have been completely touched over the years by seeing how much these careers have impacted people. I’ve met so many people who have gone on to have such bright futures because of these careers. That’s really, personally, highly motivating. Now as we move into this area around inclusion, that to me is also really, really a big motivator. Because I believe we need to live in a world where anyone has an opportunity to pursue any career that they choose, full stop.

Q: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR SECOND YEAR AND BEYOND?

A: It is around this inclusion piece and really moving the needle. This past year has been the foundational year, about reorienting the organization and becoming more performance driven. This year, as we move forward, I want us to be that long-term meaningful work that allows B.C. to be a leader in inclusion and see really high numbers of women in trades. É

I BELIEVE WE NEED TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE ANYONE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE ANY CAREER THAT THEY CHOOSE, FULL STOP j Shelley Gray CEO, Industry Training Authority

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