SPECIAL FEATURE
Roofing industry focuses on
gaining new recruits by
emphasizing benefits of the job
By Kristen Frisa
Special to Canadian Design and
Construction Report
When asked what the biggest
challenge is for Canada’s roofing in-
dustry, executive director of Cana-
dian Roofing Contractors Association
(CRCA) Bob Brunet says without hes-
itation: it’s a labour shortage.

Lack of workers in skilled trades is
not news in Canada. In fact, statis-
tics say there will be a need for over
100,000 new skilled workers in On-
tario alone over the next decade, as
workers retire and the construction
industry continues to grow. This is
especially true in Southwestern On-
tario, where transit projects and
housing developments are driving
growth in construction.

Like most trades in Canada, roof-
ing is facing a challenge of getting
new recruits to the job. “The num-
ber-one issue that every roofing con-
tractor is struggling with is the
shortage of workers,” says Jacques
Beaulieu, president of CRCA. “We
need to get to attract people to the
trade and better explain the benefits
of working in it.”
Many strategies are being used to
draw workers to the skilled trades:
the Ontario Construction Consortium
held an event called Future Building
in May to get school-aged children
excited in the trades, while the On-
tario government recently an-
nounced it was signing an
agreement with Alberta to increase
educational opportunities within
STEM and skilled trades subjects
and ensure the skilled trades are rec-
ognized as a career of choice.

Canada’s roofing industry, too, is
focusing efforts on marketing to
young graduates - emphasizing the
appeal of working without an office,
in a job with a view.

“We’re working to increase aware-
ness of the trades amongst the
younger crowd, people coming out
of high school that don’t know what
they want to do yet,” Brunet says.

“Roofing can be a great trade to
be in. They don’t go to an office, they
go on top of the building,” Brunet
says. “Their view is phenomenal.” He
says roofers also tend to make a re-
ally decent wage and have opportu-
nities for advancement.

18 – Summer/Fall 2019 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
Canada’s first National Roofing
Week in June aimed at creating aware-
ness and excitement about the work
roofers do. For the inaugural year,
CRCA worked with regional roofers’
associations to generate excitement in
their individual membership groups.

The Roofing Contractors Associa-
tion of Manitoba (RCAM) and the
Quebec Master Roofers Association
(QMRA) saw resounding success in
this year’s endeavour.




“Quebec had 40 per cent of
members participating,” says Bob
Brunet, executive director of CRCA.

“They received almost 350 photos
from members, mostly posted on
social media,” he says. QMRA
came up with a slogan for 2019
Roofing Week, which they intend to
carry forward. The slogan reads
“T’as pas vu ma vue” which in En-
glish translates to “Have you seen
my view?”
All the activity from members
helps to advance awareness of
what roofers do, as evidenced by
the estimated 66,000 unique page
views QMRA’s website garnered.

Beaulieu says he hopes this ini-
tial success will get other regions
of the country on board. “The re-
sults and the provincial support
have been more than we ex-
pected,” Beaulieu says. “It’s a great
opportunity to educate people
about the roofing trade,” he says.

Brunet says another key initia-
tive for the CRCA is explaining the
benefits of hiring member contrac-
tors on a job, one of which is the
quality screening that goes into
businesses before they’re admitted
for membership. Member busi-
nesses are screened for quality
work and business viability. “We’re
very different from other trade as-
sociations,” Brunet says. “Mem-
bers have to prequalify in order to
join CRCA.”
He says requirements vary from
province to province, and getting in
is tough. “In Ontario, for instance,
they go audit your past jobs and
current jobs before you’re accepted
as a member. They also review in-
surance, health and safety record,
and financials.” He says that means
building owners can be assured
that CRCA members can do the job
well. “By hiring a CRCA member all
the prequalification has already
been done for them,” Brunet says.

The CRCA promotes collabora-
tion within the industry and repre-
sents member interests, to support
them to excel professionally and
technically. Canadian National Roof-
ing Week is to take place the first
week of June, annually.

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www.toplineroofing.ca The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Summer/Fall 2019 – 19