Creating equitable opportunities in the construction industry for Black youth, women and entrepreneurs

BY PAUL JUNOR

It has been over three years now that the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN) has been at the foundation of building strong community-labour partnerships through its support base of workforce development agencies, learning institutions and funders.

The organization started as a result of a weekend workshop in April 2013, in which over 40 community groups, unions, and workforce development agencies came together. TCBN envisioned Toronto as an inclusive, thriving city in which all residents have equitable opportunities to contribute to building healthy communities and a prospering economy.

Community Benefit Agreement (CBAs) are a proven approach to achieve this vision. It was in April 2014 that TCBN signed a Community Benefit Framework after 15 months of negotiation with the Toronto Transit Corporation and failing to finalize an agreement with Province of Ontario to ensure that community was a legally binding partner. This framework “provides a process to which the TCBN can hold the two parties accountable to the Community Benefit plan.

TCBN plays a vital and crucial role because it negotiates and supports the implementation of CBAs in the GTA, ensuring that publicly funded building projects include jobs in construction trades for: Black, Indigenous and other racialized workers, including youth, women and newcomers.

On Tuesday, August 23^rd, a press release from Trotoman Communications indicated that TCBN will be hosting Future Green Builders at its fifth annual NexGen Builders Retreat and Summer Picnic at Niagara-on-the Lake. It describes The NexGen Builders Mentoring program is one that fosters the next generation of builders by pairing Black youth, women and newcomers pursuing careers in construction with mentors and peer mentors who prepare them for success in the workplace.

I spoke with Christopher Trotman of Trotman Communications who provided me with additional details about the work of the TCBN. Through the TCBN, there are over 2,000 job seekers that have obtained apprenticeship in construction and other careers involving contractors and unions. In a subsequent email on Friday afternoon, I learned that TCBN seeks to address the need for more diversity in the skilled trade by facilitating valuable networking and professional development opportunities.

There are several pre-apprenticeship delivery partners such as: Mohawk College, Building UP, Labour Education Centre and TNO-Thorncliffe Office as well as Canada Green Building Council that have joined together with the TCBN to make the retreat possible. It is largely through the Province of Ontario and the connections with community, labour and community partners that the mentorship program is possible.

Rosemarie Powell, Executive Director of TCBN states, “We’re grateful for the level of engagement and support we’re seen from our industry partners in planning for this retreat. The only way to create equitable opportunities in the construction industry for Black youth, women and entrepreneurs, is for the industry to meaningfully participate in opening doors for those individuals. Networking and mentorship opportunities, like those created through NexGen Builders, is one example of what participation can look like.”

Aside from the empowering and team building aspects of the retreat, it will also be the basis for the inauguration of a series of online Green Building Career Fairs that TCBN will coordinate in the next seven months. This will be part of the Workforce 2030: Rapid Upskilling for Green Building Occupations thanks to the generosity of the Future Skills Centre funded by the Government of Canada. The purpose of the fairs is to introduce job seekers to construction representatives with green priorities who are ready to recruit, train and hire contractors and unions.

Anyone interested in learning about the Toronto Community Benefits Network can check  www.communitybenefits.ca