March 4, 2008

Canadian Construction Association Annual Conference

More Canadian construction firms consider company-wide Gold Seal certification

Companies incorporate Canadian Construction Association-administered program into human resources strategy

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

As Gold Seal becomes the industry’s standard of choice for construction management excellence, an increasing number of firms are taking a hard look at implementing company-wide certification.

“Certainly, we’ve seen a real increase in the number of firms embracing Gold Seal as a method of advancing the professionalism of their staff and ultimately, increasing their firms’ competitiveness,” says program manager Andrew Shepherd.

The Canadian Construction Association-administered program certifies construction managers in the occupations of estimator, superintendent, project manager, owner’s project manager and construction safety co-ordinator.

Last year, applications topped the 600 mark, double the previous year’s level.

Shepherd, who is scheduled to present an update on the status of the program at a session during the association’s 90th annual conference in Victoria, identified company-wide certification as an emerging trend.

In an interview, he said an estimated 20 construction companies have made such a commitment at the corporate level, incorporating Gold Seal certification into their HR strategies.

“What happens is that the senior executives set Gold Seal as an objective for their managers,” Shepherd said.

“It then gets built into their HR systems as a professional development tool.

“Achieving certification is set as one of the objectives in annual performance plans.”

Over the past few years, companies such as Eastern Construction Co. Ltd., Asco Construction, Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., Mike Moore & Sons Construction Ltd. and Ledcor Construction Ltd. have taken such a step.

Longstanding supporters of the program include industry giants PCL and EllisDon as well as the mechanical contracting firm of Geo. A. Kelson Co. Ltd.

“We’ve also seen some recent examples of firms outside of the general contracting sphere making a commitment to Gold Seal certification,” Shepherd said.

That contingent includes Ontario’s Miller Group and Alberta’s Volker Stevin Contracting Ltd., both of which have road building operations.

On an allied front, Shepherd said there has been a “dramatic” increase of late in the number of construction management diploma and degree programs being offered by post-secondary institutions in Canada.

B.C.’s Thompson Rivers University, for one, has launched a bachelor of technology degree program in trades and technology leadership.

That program also is available online.

Print | Email | Comment