Construction Labour Relations Alberta (CLRA) has launched Industry Insights, a new series of breakfast meetings designed to give board members, industry partners and stakeholders visibility into upcoming project priorities, policy developments and emerging trends shaping Alberta’s construction sector.
CLRA plays a vital role in leading discussions and building partnerships within the industry to build awareness and help address these issues so every aspect of construction in this province benefits.
The inaugural event featured Kendall Dilling, President of Pathways Alliance, who provided an update on the organization’s work supporting Alberta’s oil sands industry through the construction of carbon capture and storage projects.
The Pathways Alliance carbon capture and storage network represents a major opportunity for Alberta’s skilled trades. Construction is expected to generate more than $16.5 billion in GDP and over 129,000 jobs, with $13.3 billion flowing into Alberta’s economy and $12.2 billion in labour income.
Beyond the immediate construction activity, the network positions Alberta’s oil sands sector to remain globally competitive. The project helps establish Alberta as a leader in carbon capture technology that can serve other industries and be exported internationally, while generating economic benefits that fund healthcare, highways and transit infrastructure.
Industry leaders heard from Mr. Dilling that these projects will require substantial workforce capacity. Discussion among those attending touched on the need for all industries and the entire construction sector to work together to build workforce capacity and commit to ensuring local labour is available, particularly with large projects like carbon capture that are either in the planning stages or coming on stream over the next couple of years.
CLRA plans to continue the Industry Insights series throughout the year, bringing in industry leaders to discuss topics critical to Alberta’s construction sector and workforce development. The next one is scheduled for March 17th.
