Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Technology in Construction—Are You Ready?

Technology is changing quickly. How do tradespeople and trainer keep up?

Technology in the construction industry is rapidly evolving. Given the fast-paced changes, industry stakeholders, apprentices, and journeypersons are constantly faced with a number of questions. What does it mean to be job-ready? Is my Red Seal credential enough? Which safety tickets do I need for site access? Should I have leadership or supervisory training? How do I keep my skills up to date?

With the incredible speed of technological change, it is challenging for experienced journeypersons to keep up with the latest technologies and even more challenging to ensure that we are training new apprentices for a future workplace. It is up to industry and training providers to not only be responsive to the technological advances in the workplace, but to proactively anticipate these changes and how they affect both the current and future workforce.

One of the biggest challenges faced by technical training providers is ensuring their curriculum stays current. Training providers are looking to industry for increased input and support to ensure that training content remains relevant. As a training provider, we are constantly looking to our employers to help us make the connection between practical workplace situations and technical training content.

Beyond this, the current Red Seal program has no requirement for existing journeypersons to engage in continuous learning to keep their skills current. Ongoing technological changes in the trades make additional training necessary to maintain a skilled workforce, but how does a worker ensure that he or she is not left behind?

The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum’s report “Apprenticeship: Facing Change Head On—National Conference Summary 2018” states that a number of soft skills are required to adapt to technological change and be successful in this new work environment. These skills include “learning continuously, showing initiative, being adaptable, and creativity.”

CLAC Training works closely with our members, signatory employers, and other industry partners to ensure that our workforce has the opportunity to engage in meaningful work-related training in any stage of their careers. We work to ensure that we are up to date with current and emerging trends, while offering you support in finding and accessing the training you need to stay safe, skilled, and certified for any job.

Technology in Construction—Are You Ready?

You might be interested in