Labour shortages dominate conversations about construction, but Bill Black argues they're only part of the story.

Bill is President and CEO of the Calgary Construction Association. He joins Stacey Allan and guest host Ann Normand to discuss why better project delivery, stronger leadership, and more thoughtful career pathways matter just as much as recruiting more workers. They also explore how construction careers can provide tremendous opportunity, why employers need to rethink how they develop talent, and what parents, educators, and industry can do to help more young people find work that's the right fit.

00:00 Introduction
01:18 From Scotland to construction leadership
04:53 Why construction is harder than it needs to be
08:27 Collaboration over lowest-price procurement
09:48 Why the labour shortage isn't the whole story
13:34 Can leadership be taught?
17:00 A real-world example of collaboration working
19:20 Building the next generation of skilled workers
21:03 What Bill would tell young people considering construction
25:06 Why finding the right career fit matters
28:32 Why networking opens doors
33:16 Hiring people, not job descriptions
36:35 What motivates people
38:40 Why construction deserves more respect
40:42 What's next for Bill Black
42:42 Rapid Fire

Calgary Construction Association Website

From jail to Yale to a career in the skilled trades, Alex McNamara’s path has been anything but conventional.

Alex is a welder, rigger, technical director, construction educator and founder of Built Pretty. She joins Stacey Allan and Jacqueline Daniels to talk about addiction and recovery, finding purpose through hands-on work, breaking into male-dominated spaces, and building a career by saying “Yes.”

They also dig into what employers can do to attract and retain more women in the trades, what good mentorship looks like, and how Alex built an audience of more than 400,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok by making construction relatable and accessible.

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction
01:58 Alex’s Backstory: Addiction and Finding the Trades
10:02 Fear of Rejection and the Power of Yes
14:01 Women in the Trades
16:00 How Employers Can Reach More Women
17:38 Embracing Femininity
21:19 Mentorship
25:13 Workplace Safety Culture
26:44 Harnessing Social Media and Personal Branding
32:05 Inspiring Others Through Information Media
35:00 Advice for Young Women About the Trades
36:28 Would You Rather?
37:57 Conclusion

About Alex McNamara

Alex McNamara is a Nashville-based technical director, welder, rigger and construction educator. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, she has worked across Broadway, large-scale music festivals and live entertainment builds around the world.

Through Built Pretty and her social media platforms, Alex shares an unfiltered look at life and careers in the skilled trades, reaching more than 400,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.

Connect with Alex

Built Pretty Website
Instagram
TikTok

Learn more about CAREERS: https://www.careersnextgen.ca/

Follow Take on the Future: https://www.careersnextgen.ca/podcast/

The path to a meaningful career is rarely a straight line, and the same can be said for building a strong workforce.

In this episode, Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels sit down with Liz Kovach, President of Supply-Build Canada (and, in her own words, the self-proclaimed "Lumber Lady"), to explore how employers can attract, develop, and retain talent in an increasingly competitive labour market.

Liz shares how an unexpected career journey led her to Canada's lumber and building materials industry, why some of the best careers are the ones people don't know exist, and what employers can do to inspire the next generation of workers. The conversation also explores entrepreneurship, mentorship, internships, innovation, and why getting comfortable may be the biggest barrier to growth.

Learn more

Supply-Build Canada
https://www.supplybuild.ca

Let's Go Build
https://www.letsgobuild.ca

A journalist. A musician. And somehow... a workforce podcast.

Welcome to Take on the Future—building tomorrow's workforce, today.

Before we dive into our interviews, we're taking a few minutes to introduce ourselves and share why we started the podcast.

Follow Take on the Future on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or YouTube so you don't miss upcoming episodes.