There is a Place for Everyone in Construction

Legacy Builders is bringing skilled trades to the classrooms.

The number of construction and infrastructure projects continues to grow exponentially across Canada. Our industry will need more than 100,000 new skilled tradespeople in Ontario over the next decade to meet that demand.

Finding these new workers is a challenge that inspired Christina Rauchfleisz-Shantz, Operations and Outreach Liaison at Melloul-Blamey Construction Inc., to create Legacy Builders, a program designed to showcase construction career opportunities to young students across Waterloo Region.

Legacy Builders brings inspiring speakers and hands-on demonstrations to classrooms. The program was launched in 2022, and the demand is already outrunning Rauchfleisz-Shantz’s expectations. She works with the Business and Education Partnership of Waterloo Region to coordinate with the schools, and there is currently a waitlist for new classes hoping to bring the program to their schools.

The idea for the program came about during her time as chairperson of the Leaders in Construction board at the Grand Valley Construction Association (GVCA). She said one of the board’s goals was to bring the trades to the classroom to show students what the construction offers.

“When I thought about what we wanted with this program, I knew the goal was to create something fun that the students could take home to their families and share. Just having people come in and talk wouldn’t do that, we needed it to be fun and interactive. It needed to be something they’d be excited about,” said Rauchfleisz-Shantz.

Legacy Builders brings industry professionals into grade eight classrooms to share their personal stories on how they got started in construction and how their careers have grown. The interactive portion of the program involves the board game ‘The Jobsite,’ where students compete to complete a project. The goal is to have all students receive some  Legacy Builders swag, and the winning team at the board game wins Legacy Builders hooded sweatshirts.

“The Jobsite game is great! It’s a fun and realistic look into what a day in construction is like. It’s a cross between Monopoly and the lifecycle of a construction project, and the students love it,” she said.

While the construction industry offers great careers, Rauchfleisz-Shant said that many families still do not see the potential opportunities in the industry.

“Construction has been a very blue-collar field. When a child tells their parents that they want to be in construction, all they picture is their child on a job site making $11 an hour sweeping up saw dust. They don’t see the potential in the career,” she said.

Rauchfleisz-Shantz knows the potential of a career in construction. She is a third-generation construction industry professional, following in the footsteps of her father, Jeff Shantz, Vice President of Project Development at Melloul-Blamey, and her grandfather, who also owned and operated an independent construction company.

“I was born into it, but even then, I didn’t know about all the different careers you can go into within the industry. There’s a place for everyone in construction,” said Rauchfleisz-Shantz.

Even though she is part of a legacy construction family, Rauchfleisz-Shantz’s career was not a straight path into her role with Melloul-Blamey. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in sociology before finding her way back to construction.

“I kept coming back to construction, and I was able to find a niche that I’m passionate about, which is promoting construction and engaging with the community. It’s especially important as a woman to show that construction isn’t just a field for men—women can do this too,” said Rauchfleisz-Shantz.

STEM programs are increasingly popular inside and outside the classroom, but Rauchfleisz-Shantz said they often focus on a four-year degree program and a career in tech. Part of parental education is showcasing the professionally and financially rewarding careers in construction.

“One of the booklets that we send home with the children has a list of different trades, career options, and salaries. You'll find a better career in a trade right now than you will at any desk job,” she said.

Legacy Builders has a two-year waitlist of schools wanting to bring the program to their students. Partner sponsorships fund the program, and Rauchfleisz-Shantz said they are actively searching for sponsors to expand the program to meet the demand. 

“When the children go home with a Legacy Builders swag and the booklet, their parents ask about it, and a conversation starts. We started this because we want that to continue—to pass on our legacy of the construction industry to a whole new generation.”

Visit bepwr.ca/legacy-builders to learn more about the program and sponsorship opportunities.

 Author:

Alex Kinsella