DIVERSITY PARTICIPATION
OUTLOOK 2020
Photos contributed
An Aboriginal adult skilled-trades fair organized by Ann Sylliboy with Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey was held at Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council's Trades Exhibition Hall in December.
Beyond bricks and mortar Diversity in procurement adds value to construction process By Joey Fitzpatrick
I
t’s a quiet December afternoon in the Ragged Lake Business Park. But the Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council (NSCSC) premises are humming with activity, as a group of about 20 Aboriginal adults get some hands-on experience in construction trades at NSCSC’s Unique Trades Exhibition Hall. Opened in 2014, the trades exhibition hall hosts some 70 groups of visitors every year. These guests can speak with industry professionals and then step into an interactive booth to experience firsthand what it would be like to work as a welder, plumber, heavy equipment operator, bricklayer, electrician, boilermaker, carpenter/millwright, sheet metal worker or in various other trades. “People can get a sense of whether they want to work in construction or not,” explains NSCSC Executive Director, Trent Soholt. “They can try things out before they make a decision to go down that path.”
20
Groups visit the trades exhibition hall from high schools, colleges and various community organizations and today’s visiting group is part of an Aboriginal Adult Skilled Trades Fair. Barely a kilometre from NSCSC’s office a clear cutting is making way for a new community outpatient centre in Bayers Lake. When completed the $100 million facility will offer improved access and parking for clinical visits for blood collection, x-rays and other services. The new outpatient centre is just one of a number of capital projects unfolding across Nova Scotia, including a $230 million Cape Breton Regional hospital and $116 million each for new hospitals in North Sydney and New Waterford. Together with new schools, utilities and transportation projects, they represent billions in capital investment by the province over the next five years. As government looks for better ways to deliver health-care services to Nova FEBRUARY 2020
Scotians, there is a parallel imperative to make a social impact with those public investments, or in the words of Premier Stephen McNeil, to “leave a legacy for Nova Scotia.” “Those capital investments have to deliver the best value to Nova Scotians,” Soholt says. “But they also have to meet some of the priorities set out by government.” One of those priorities is diversity of participation — ensuring that populations historically under-represented in the construction sector, including Aboriginals, African Nova Scotians, people with disabilities, women and immigrants, are able to take part and reap the benefits. Procurement has been identified as an area of great potential for bringing these under-represented groups into the process. “Procurement has typically been: Lowest bid wins the project. There’s always somebody who can do it cheaper,”
