November 20, 2006

REGINA BRODERSEN, BC CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION

Carpenter Dominik Lehmann is now working in Victoria, after coming to Canada in October through the federal Youth Mobility Program.

SKILLED TRADES

Foreign workers enjoy chance to work overseas

Peter Mitham

Correspondent

A simple Internet posting was the cue for carpenter Dominik Lehmann to trade life in Dresden, Germany for work in Victoria.

Lehmann, 29, came to Canada through the federal Youth Mobility Program at the beginning of October. New experiences and the chance to earn better wages than in Germany attracted him, and he hasn’t been disappointed.

Lehmann now works for Pye Construction Ltd. in Victoria, a mid-size construction company currently working on formwork for the Parkside Victoria Resort and Spa, a LEED-registered project that hopes to achieve LEED Platinum certification when it completes in late 2007. “I’ve got a good job – I’ve got less hours to work, in my opinion,” Lehmann said. “It’s a good salary, friendly guys. ... It’s a very good atmosphere. I like it.”

Lehmann isn’t alone. By some estimates, between 10,000 and 12,000 foreign workers are at work on B.C. construction sites. This year, to the beginning of November, Service Canada gave approvals for 1,103 workers to enter Canada through its labour market opinion process.

Though approvals this year are trending slightly behind last year’s total of 1,603, demand is still strong in a sector strapped for skilled help.

The demand prompted the B.C. Construction Association to introduce EU-STEP, a program intended to connect firms with European workers from Europe. The program complements existing federal programs such as the Labour Market Opinion initiative, the Youth Mobility Program and Provincial Nominee Program.

Since its launch October 1, it has worked with 15 people, including formworkers, bricklayers, rebar installers and roofers. A recent information session in Vancouver for employers drew 24 people representing more than a dozen companies, large interest in preparing to hire foreign workers. Additional meetings are planned for Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops.

Program co-ordinator Regina Brodersen said EU-STEP supports smaller companies that may not have the skills in-house to source, select and work with foreign workers once they arrive.

“It’s basically end-to-end trying to find the perfect match,” she said. “A lot of the smaller and mid-size companies that do not have any HR resources available really want the right person. They want somebody for the longer term, but they’re not equipped to [find them].”

EU-STEP helps screen workers, ensuring they have the basic credentials required to work in B.C. It also helps employers and workers bridge the cultural and social gaps that exist when workers first arrive.

Brodersen said both companies and tradespeople must commit to a long-term arrangement.

“It’s not worth it for anybody concerned to bring anybody in for six months or so. The effort and the money behind that – it’s just not worth it,” she said.

Brodersen said EU-STEP has job coaches to monitor employers’ compliance with hiring agreements and the progress of new employees as part of its support services.

The conditions foreign workers face is a big issue for Wayne Peppard, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council.

He would like to see a better means of tracking tradespeople who enter Canada, be it under labour market opinions or other arrangements. Without appropriate structures in place, Peppard said many foreign workers are vulnerable to abuse.

“There’s no monitoring to ensure that the terms and conditions of their visas are being met when they arrive in Canada,” Peppard said. “There’s no monitoring, too, that the terms and conditions that the employer has applied for in order to get them here have been [met]. And then, where we find violations, there’s no enforcement mechanism.”

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