One of the factors that added value to the program was the dynamic of the group. The networking provided by the participants with more experience in the field was remarkable, reflecting real life job search techniques and showing support for participants whose first language was not English.

The Construction Industry Employment Committee supporting the project identified the key employability skills required of the new employee as follows: be on time, ready to work, and aware of safety on the job site. The participants were measured in all three areas during the first week.

In analyzing the program overall, the success of the program can be measured in different ways. First, the participant selection process allowed people to self-assess their suitability for working in construction before entering into any employment or training situations, which they may not be suited to. Secondly, by developing a modularized program, participants took only the training they required, which again saved time and money. Thirdly, the program assessed the employability skills of the participants within the first few days of the program, by observing them consistently showing up on time, ready to work, and demonstrating basic knowledge of the industry.

Recommendations

This program could be used in several ways to assist the construction industry in recruiting entry-level labourers or heavy equipment operators more efficiently. One additional benefit is that it could be used as an effective screening tool, to assess workers against the skills required to be successful in this line of work. Therefore, we recommend:

• Firstly, that anyone applying for heavy equipment operator training programs should be required to participate in a screening process, as a way to assess their suitability before entering a program. HEO training is usually six weeks long and currently costs anywhere from 14 to 18 thousand dollars per student. This screening benefit is for employers and workers alike. Neither would need to invest a lot of time and money into training to determine their suitability to construction.
• Secondly, if someone can illustrate their prior knowledge and skills of the work, they may not need an entire training program, just gap training.
• Thirdly, industry could adopt a labour market model, as seen on page six, which addresses how pre-screening is done and by whom, and make it available to small, medium and large employers who may not have the time or resources to pre-screen effectively.