Several employers participated in the project at different stages in the project development. Employer names were put forth by Steering Committee members and approached at the inception, during the development of criteria, and again to review the field assessment.
Employers were approached with the survey and field assessment prototype (Part II, Appendix D) which asked about difficulties with hiring and retention practices. The employers were also asked for their opinions concerning documentation of worker skills and what would be acceptable to them. The final area of questioning pertained to the employer’s opinions regarding qualified assessors for new entrants.
Representatives from Employment Training Services, and Industry Training Partnerships continued to meet with OARS training Inc. on a project steering committee along with representatives from the employer industry group including Government Services, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, The Operating Engineers Training Institute of Manitoba, and the Labourers International Union. Approximately 15 to 20 employers were queried at different points in the project, either through attending meetings, filling out surveys, or answering questions requiring subject matter expertise. It needs to be noted that individual employers themselves, are generally not part of the construction industry group, and yet, all the real data about job requirements was attained through the participation of these individual employers.
Utilizing existing databases and public sources of secondary source information, the project research was able to identify that many construction employers belong to the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association. The research indicates that larger companies are more likely to be members of this provincial organization. A correlation to membership lists indicated that only 3 in 10 employers, with less than 10 workers, are members of MHCA, and only 1/3 of Aboriginal owned companies are members. Whereas, 85% of companies having greater than 25 employees are members of Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, keeping in mind that only 5% of all Manitoba Construction employers are unionized.
If these project forms the basis for development of a Provincial Industry Labour Force Committee, then there needs to be developmental work to implement the principles of partnership, as suggested in the conceptual framework as seen on page 11. It is not clear that all voices are heard, nor have all stakeholders been invited to participate. A broader outreach to all interested parties and a process for the group to dialogue and problem solve might help the government to determine where to apply their supports.