First-timers flock to CCA’s Annual Conference
The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) hosted its first in-person Annual Conference in two years in Vancouver, British Columbia. More than 400 industry professionals, including a record 100 first-timers, were in attendance for the three-day event that took place March 8 – 11, 2022.
This conference offered both in-person and streamed content – allowing delegates at home to benefit from the latest insights from industry experts.
Former NHL player turned community leader and mental health advocate Jordin Tootoo kicked things off with a compelling keynote on leadership and creating a culture of exceptional teamwork. His talk, woven with personal stories about addiction, mental illness and overcoming adversity, encourages frank and open discussion around creating a culture of inclusivity.
Delegates attended 11 sessions with 32 speakers, ranging from debates on the future direction of Canada’s trade economy, an insider’s perspective on the state of the nation and what the political landscape means for construction in Canada, a CEO roundtable discussion on how to scale-up your business, as well as panels on data trusts and green building, and presentations on Indigenous infrastructure and building a talent pipeline.
Several themes emerged from the three days of discussion.
Look to trade infrastructure
From Investing in trade diversification – Protecting our national economic and security interests to Asia vs the US: A debate on where Canada should focus next in terms of trade to Economic outlook and implications for construction, industry experts provided conference-goers with their views on the biggest opportunities and challenges ahead for our industry. Citing reports that Canada has fallen from 10th to 32nd in terms of global trade infrastructure, it’s clear that Canada’s growth economy needs reliable trade infrastructure to connect supply chains and efficiently move goods and services across borders.
New day – a better way
Sustainability and innovation need to occur at the same time on multiple levels. With sessions such as The battle for the greenest building material and The Innovator’s Pitch: CONtact mentorship program, the industry demonstrated the forward thinking that enables our industry to deliver what Canadians need to go about their daily lives – clean water, critical transportation networks and road maintenance, schools, hospitals and other health care facilities.
Shaun Kennedy, Mach85, Innovator’s Pitch: CONtact winner
“Digital twins is another big thing in industry now where you have models that represent your actual real structure – so by using this (innovation) you can actually now have tens of thousands of data points and make sure you’re actually doing real worst case scenarios. You’re getting more data, better and higher quality data, and it’s actually at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.”
A strong workforce is the industry’s most valuable asset
From the CEO roundtable: Growing a more valuable company to CCA’s Gold Seal Certification program: A golden ticket to attracting, retaining and nurturing top talent to Collaborative talent management: Building a talent pipeline, these sessions explored how the industry is tackling the challenge of attracting and then retaining the next generation of workers the industry needs to build Canada’s future economy.
“More than 400,000 Indigenous youth will be of age to enter the job market over the next decade. Forty per cent of new jobs in trades, transport, and equipment require an enhanced skillset and Indigenous nations have interests in all of these sectors.”
Jesse McCormick, Director of Research, Innovation and Legal Affairs, First Nations Major Projects Coalition
These are just a couple examples of the many insights shared during the educational stream of the 2022 CCA Annual Conference.
Delegates also had time to participate in some much-needed networking and social interaction after two years connecting on Zoom. Outdoor activities at Grouse Mountain, a speak-easy themed Fun night reception, a music-laden Rant and rye (some performers even brought their own merch), and a Closing gala to cap off the conference, connected new and old friends.
The recorded sessions will be available to conference registrants next week on the Pheedloop platform.