On this episode of The Construction Record Podcast™, digital media editor Warren Frey has two interviews from the Vancouver Island Construction Association’s (VICA) annual conference held recently in Victoria, B.C.

The first interview is with MNP Consulting Services partner Susan Mowbray who gave attendees a look at the current economic situation on Vancouver Island and explained where opportunities for innovation would allow the construction industry to adapt to changing demographics and an increasingly shrinking labour pool. She added artificial intelligence (AI) is an opportunity for employers to both streamline what they do but also compete more effectively.

Our second interview is with Immigration, refugee and citizenship lawyer Sarah Goodman who spoke at the VICA conference about some of the pathways to hire skilled workers from overseas. She outlined not only well-known programs for temporary foreign work and pathways to permanent residency but also highlighted ways in which foreign workers with enough skilled trades experience in their home countries could obtain a Red Seal certification.

You can listen to our recent interviews with industry reaction to the recent federal budget here and our episodes are available at the Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce websites, on Libsyn and at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music’s podcast section. Thanks for listening.

DCN-JOC News Services