January 23, 2012

Ledcor undertakes massive recruitment campaign

BRADLEY FEHR

Vancouver-based Ledcor Group of Companies has expanded its human resource department over the last few years in an attempt to attract thousands of new workers.

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The human resource department at Vancouver-based Ledcor Group of Companies has expanded to fill the large number of current vacancies, which is driven by demand for new construction and the acquisition of existing companies.

“Right now we are looking at existing work and any new work we get which aligns with the skilled people we are looking for,” said Sue Malik, director of talent acquisition with Ledcor.

“We are actively bidding new construction work and one of our limitations is to find and hire new people. That is why we are looking at field-based workers and management staff.”

Ledcor’s website shows the company currently has openings for 200 positions. According to Malik, the company could be looking for as many as 1,000 positions at any given time.

As a result of this pressure to hire new workers, Ledcor’s human resources department has expanded in the last three years to more than 70 people from about 30.

“We do a lot of work in communications and operate to hire local people, which involves a lot of trade fairs,” said Malik.

“We identify people with the right skills and attitude, and provide them with a lot of training. We are very strong on apprenticeship programs, as well as to develop skills sets in that field.”

Ledcor is interested in hiring internationally and is gearing up to start hiring more temporary foreign workers.

The human resources department is also looking at skilled workers in the United States and is in the process of setting up a group to target this segment of the labour market.

However, finding skilled workers for new construction work is not the only way Ledcor can expand.

“As we grow, we are acquiring companies in other lines of business,” said Malik. “We are now hiring people who support that line of business.”

In November 2011, Ledcor established a marine transportation service by acquiring Renew Resources, a B.C. based company that specializes in the processing of wood fibre in the interior.

At the same time, the company took delivery of 12 new barges.

Renew produces wood chips and hog fuel that is transported to customers by truck and Ledcor’s new barges.

The acquisition of the marine vessels and Renew Resources for $70 million makes Ledcor the only company of its kind to provide all of the related supply chain services from fibre sourcing and harvesting to the processing and delivery of that fibre to end users.

In support of this initiative, Ledcor hired Paul McElligott in September as president and COO of Ledcor Resources and Transportation.

He is responsible for managing and growing the company’s existing tugboat, barge and aviation businesses, as well as wood fibre alternative energy initiatives.

McElligott was president and CEO of TimberWest Forest Corp.

He accepted the position in 2001.

Before that, he was president and CEO of the B.C. Rail Group of Companies, where he acquired experience in B.C.’s real estate, rail and intermodal transportation, telecommunications, and deep-sea port terminal sectors.

Malik said that last year Ledcor filled 9,000 vacancies in Alberta alone, which was achieved by implementing a recruitment campaign using social media in addition to billboards, posters and contact cards.

Workers were hired in the industrial, maintenance and civil divisions, to work on a number of oilsands industry projects near Fort McMurray, Alberta.

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