Creative ways to help their community

We’re always so pleased to see the innovative ways our members outreach in their community. As we know our industry struggles to find the right skilled labour and Chaulk Woodworking in Minden, Ontario has come up with a new idea and kuddos to them for giving this a go!

At Chaulk, community is at the heart of their core values and they’re looking to help with both the housing and the skilled trades crisis in their community.

Their approach: Additional Dwelling Cabinetry Discount

For anyone who has the desire and ability to help with the housing crisis by creating an addition dwelling on their property, Chaulk is offering a 25% discount on cabinets for those units. This offer excludes short term rentals.

Chaulk has launched their Skilled Trades Bursary to financially assist a local student with education costs in attending a Skilled Trades Program. For every additional dwelling unit project they work on, they will contribute $100 towards the Chaulk Bursary.

Lastly, they are sharing a CALL-TO-ACTION for all area businesses to get creative with their programs and offers to help solve the housing and skilled trade crisin in their community. Chaulk is happy to promote and and all programs. Business owners are invited to contact Chaulk’s President, Revor, at trevor@shopchaulk.com to discuss their plans.

 

CKCA Launches “HR Suite of Tools” for members

We’ve been listening to what our members need and HR is often listed at the top priority.

Managing HR is the cornerstone to success of any business. Some businesses have an HR Manager on staff, some outsource and others manage it themselves.  But HR is a risk area for any company and we want to link our members to the best resources to help them. In a market where labour shortages are common, we are working to arm our members with a suite of HR tools. Everything from promotion to recruitment to advice. CKCA is here to help our industry succeed.

We’re pleased to announce our new partnership with HR Covered. The largest Canadian-owned HR company in Canada. Because we know it’s important to get the right advice from the right source.

In addition, a reminder to CKCA members that you may also access the HR tools available through our partnership with CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent Business).

What does the HR suite of tools include?

  • Unlimited access to the document library – over 700 HR templates and policies designed by HR experts (available in English and French)
  • Free 30 minute HR Health Check
  • Receive HR Covered’s National newsletter covering key trends and policy changes.
  • Access free webinars on various topics including consulting HR lawyers, discussions on hiring foreign workers, recruitment strategies and more (these are excellent webinars!).
  • 50% off recruiting commission
  • Plus, if you’re looking for addition HR support, you can access different programs including Unlimited HR Advice, Unlimited Legislative Training and Unlimited Employment Law and these services come with a 30-day money back guarantee.
  • Access free templates and documents through your membership with CFIB (included with your CKCA membership)
  • Get 40% off Payworks payroll services
  • Access more than 50 free on-line courses on business management and compliance through Vubiz
  • 10% discount on training programs for your staff offered through Centre for Advanced Wood Processing and Wood Manufacturing Council
  • Access to graduates from the entry level training (pilot program) for kitchen cabinet production worker (now only available in BC, but will be expanding)
  • Medical benefits through CKCA’s program with Desjardins Insurance plus free employee discount program of 10%-60% on thousands of brands when you purchase CKCA benefits (more employee perks that cost you nothing!)
  • 25% discount at Goodlife Fitness for all your staff
  • 10% discount cards at Mark’s Work Warehouse for all your staff
  • Access to CKCA recruitment tools, videos plus a 15% discount on recruitment videos through CKCA’s provider
  • Free job listings with woodworkingjobs.ca
  • CKCA scans for industry data, employment updates and strategic intel to help you manage HR in your business
  • Last, but not least – you are not alone. We’re looking to host regular HR roundtable discussions via Zoom. If you’re interested in participating, get in touch with us below.

And there’s more coming with additional videos that interview different career opportunities in the industry, along with information sheets and wage level information.

CKCA members can access all these tools. We’re here to help.

For more information on how to access all these services and discounts please contact info@ckca.ca or call us at 613-493-5858

AODO Compliance Deadline Dec 31. 2023

In line with CKCA’s recent partnership with HR Covered, we want to bring to your attention an important update to the AODA compliance requirements that some CKCA members may have missed.

You can find the reference to this on the Ontario website here
https://www.ontario.ca/page/completing-your-accessibility-compliance-report 

AODA Compliance Reporting

Deadline: December 31st
Before the end of 2023, all businesses, nonprofits with 20 or more employees/volunteers and all public sector organizations will need to confirm their ongoing compliance with the AODA and submit a compliance report to the Ontario Government. Penalties for non-compliance

 Employers with less then 20 employees/volunteers must be able to prove they were fully compliant by the deadline but are not required to submit reporting

The AODA gives government authority to set monetary penalties to enforce compliance with accessibility standards. The maximum penalties under the AODA include:

A corporation/organization that is guilty can be fined up to $100,000 per day

Directors and officers of a corporation/organization that is guilty can be fined up to $50,000 per day

We have come to understand that the fines will be applied automatically for missing the deadline.

 Ontario AODA accessibility report:
Completing your accessibility compliance report – The deadline set by the Ontario government to confirm compliance with the AODA, and the penalties for non-compliance, create a sense of urgency.

ontario.ca

Completing your accessibility compliance report

Businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees and public sector organizations must follow these steps to complete an accessibility compliance report. You will need to download the report, complete it and submit it

HR Covered is set up to help members through this cumbersome and time consuming process for a nominal fee.

CKCA’s contact atHR Covered is:

Vera Palmeri, Senior Account Executive, 1-647-277-9725 – vera@hrcovered.com

Women Installers Training Program gets started

October 2023

Back in 2018 CKCA conducted an industry study based on input from members that there was a growing shortage of kitchen cabinet installers. While this career path can be quite lucrative, manufacturers are increasingly challenged to find installers. As this part of the kitchen cabinet manufacturing process is absolutely stage of deliver, the role of the installer is higher valued and sought after.

CKCA member, Möbel Cabinetry based in Hamilton, Ontario  decided it was time to do something about it. They approached the Wood Manufacturing Council to help fund a new training program. They wanted to create and encourage women to consider a career as a kitchen cabinet installer. And so began a great partnership that is currently underway.

If you speak with P. Chacko John at Möbel, he’ll tell you this isn’t just a training program, it’s a “woman empowerment project”. With Möbel’s 30 years in business they recognized that the number of woman in the industry was negligible with marginal growth. They wanted to create opportunities for women to become independent cabinet installation professionals.

With a whopping 80,000 construction workers set to retire in the next decade in Ontario, this being widely published,  there needs to be some serious steps to fill those gaps. Because at the same time this shortage is growing, the need for more housing grows too. Ontario alone is looking to build some 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. With over 500,000 currently in the construction industry in Ontario, just crunch these numbers and the massive bottleneck gets bigger. Companies are already feeling the pinch significantly with more than half (55%) of Canadian entrepreneurs are struggling to hire workers (according the the Business Development Bank of Canada, Fall 2021 study).

The labour shortage is a massive issue and it is a systemic issue. There is no cookie-cutter solution. However, programs such as the WIIT (Women in Installation Trade) program as well as CKCA’s Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker Training Program are programs that are working to address the problem. While they may be small compared to the problem, we all know that solutions have to start somewhere. “The more people we can get interested in our industry, the better and the more people who understand the opportunities that reside in our industry is even better still” says Sandra Wood, CKCA Executive Director.

Recently Möbel’ Cabinetry was featured on the local news. Be sure to check out the news video clip here »

On behalf of the CKCA we’d like to commend Möbel’ Cabinetry and the Wood Manufacturing Council (WMC) for supporting this program. We wish them continued success and we encourage women to take a second look at career paths that they might not typically consider was suitable. You could be pleasantly surprised!

Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker Training Program – A model of success

The Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker Training Program – you need trained workers and we’re creating a supply stream

October 2023

CKCA is thrilled to see a second Cohort running for this training program that was piloted in BC in early 2023. Working in partnership with Northwest Skills, CKCA hopes to expand this program across the country and continue to see the successful placement of these students into jobs that need to be filled.  Many students are new residents to Canada who not only learn skills for employment, these are universal skills that offer a foundation to help them settle in Canada. Work prospects in the kitchen cabinet industry remain strong as our demand for housing continues.  We’re excited to see this program continue and expand.

The program was created in 2023 in direct response to CKCA members stating there was a need for labour and not just anyone but hires who could hit the ground running. Under the Northwest Industries Association, who has extensive experience as an association running similar employment training, this 9-week government funded training program was designed to prepare unemployed and underemployed persons for work within the Kitchen Cabinet sector. Working closely with CKCA members to understand their needs and skill requirements in potential employees, the Northwest Skills Institute created a hands on training program focused on the use of power and hand tools where students built projects each week, the application of safety, how to create and read blueprints, numeracy skills around imperial to metric conversion, quality control measures, finishing skills using sanders, spray paint guns, stain and varnish, online CNC training, Forklift Theory, Daily Kaizen, OFA 1, WHMIS and much more.

As the training is full time, 9am-4pm, Mon-Fri, it also increased the job skills of participants in terms of punctuality, attendance, attitude, working with and communicating with others, computer skills for online content, set up and take down of tools and equipment, continuous learning and the importance of a clean working environment.

Weekly tours with CKCA members helped students learn about common equipment, the application of Kaizen at work, production procedures, job order tracking software and systems, and opportunities within this sector. Employers in turn had the opportunity to promote their companies and to meet potential hires ahead of time. CKCA would like to sincerely thank those participating companies!

The first cohort started May 15th-July 15th with 15 participants. Fieldtrips included: Nickels, Sunrise Kitchens, Sofo Kitchens, A&A Holz, and Merit Kitchens. For job placements, Merit Kitchens hired 2 persons with Kitchen Makeover, I Love Kitchens, Armstrong Cabinets, WestCoast Mouldings and Millwork, and Makihardwood Flooring all hiring at least one. A&A Holz and Sunrise Kitchens also provided opportunities for interviews.

Cohort 2 started Oct 2nd-Dec 2nd with another 15 students ready to start their new careers within this sector. The diversity within the cohorts has been fantastic with newcomers from Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iran, India and local born Canadians. There are younger persons just starting their working careers and those with extensive experience looking to change. All are seeking the opportunity to attain training and learn more about this exciting industry.

With one successful Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker training program under its belt and second underway, it is a proven model of success in terms of recruitment, skills training and job placements. We are excited then with the potential to roll out similar training in different provinces to help CKCA address labour challenges. As mentioned, you needed people and Northwest Skills answered.  If you need people, please let Northwest Skills know. We are looking for expressed interest from other parts of the country to see where we can set up another program.

Contact:  Cormac O’Reilly, Senior Program Manager, NorthWest Skills Institute

340-1275 Venables St., Vancouver, BC cormac@nwskills.org

T: (604) 900-1980 ext 122

 

CKCA helps establish BC pilot training program

PRESS RELEASE

CKCA helps establish BC pilot training program specific to kitchen cabinetry 

OTTAWA / May 1, 2023 — The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association is pleased to be a partner in establishing a Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker (KCPW) recruitment & training program in British Columbia. The Northwest Skills Institute (NWSI) and Kaizen Learning Partners Inc, working in partnership with CKCA, has developed a program that will help participants gain the skills and knowledge needed to be immediately employed within the kitchen cabinet manufacturing industry.

There are considerable labour shortages in the cabinet manufacturing industry in BC, similar to the challenging job market throughout Canada. To explore innovative solutions to this issue, the CKCA program committee began talking about a possible solution to attract and train potential employees. Discussions evolved with NWSI, a well-established industry-focused training association in BC, and with the Chris Leonard from Kaizen Learning Partners. CKCA members in BC provided their input into a NWSI course curriculum that is specific to kitchen cabinetry.

The results is the KCPW training program that is delivered over seven weeks (210 hours) of classroom and wood shop instruction, using hands-on activities. Upon completion of this NWSI program, the participants will have the skills and knowledge of an entry level production worker for any kitchen cabinet manufacturer. Graduates will have foundational workplace skills such as using basic hand and power tools including cutting equipment. They will also obtain the ability to assemble products based on schematics, complete work orders, and ensure quality control.

The program is expected to attract new employees for the industry. Young people and newcomers to Canada will find the program instructive. The KCPW training program will present an accurate view of modern cabinet makers, providing important information for those who are not aware of the employment opportunities with cabinet manufacturers. It provides an overview of the diverse jobs and various careers that are available. Most importantly, the course provides some pre-employment skills training and work experience.

CKCA expects that the experience gained from this BC pilot training program will be helpful in supporting similar programs across the country. CKCA is committed to supporting its members gain an advantage in attracting new employees, especially in these times of critical labour shortages with skilled trades.

CKCA Executive Director Sandra Wood says:
“The Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker training program is the result of a six-month consultation process with our BC members. We are excited to be part of this BC pilot program. The combination of class instruction and hands-on skills training will ensure that the participants can walk into any one of our members’ companies and start work”.

Established in 1968 CKCA is a national trade association representing the kitchen cabinet industry in Canada. CKCA works to inspire progress and innovation in the industry, by promoting excellence, facilitating continuous improvement and working to ensure high standards for design and manufacturing are upheld. If you have any questions or would like more details on this initiative, please contact        Sandra Wood, CKCA Executive Director at 613-493-5858 or info@ckca.ca.

Growth through Culture – Four Key Ingredients

Article prepared by: Amrita Bhogal, People and Culture Leader, Sunrise Kitchens Ltd

Did you get a chance to make your Masala Chai? On the tour at Sunrise Kitchens, Amrita Bhogal, People and Culture Leader and the VP of CKCA, shared with us a special Masala spice blend.

You may be thinking how does Masala Chai connect to manufacturing cabinets?

The recipe of Masala Chai has been passed down through many generations and today families have their own unique spice blend of brewing masala chai. Culture is like masala chai. There are many variations on how to build your organizational culture and to share our process we have identified our top 4 ingredients for our recipe, Growth through Culture.

  1. Respectful Community

An important attribute to building a strong culture is having respect. Some ways you can build a respectful community within your teams is to practice active listening skills. Being an active listener can help you build trust, mutual understanding and empathy with others.  Active listening can break the barrier of listening to any objectives when teams are faced the resistance to change. In LEAN perspective, “walk the Gemba or where the activity is and listen to the people”.

  Furthermore, approaching conflict as a collaborator will also help mitigate those who are most troubled with the changes. Collaborating and understanding where they are coming from will show your team you are willing to listen and be flexible to come to an agreement both are okay with.

2.Encouraging Environment

In order to have an environment that encourages your team to build their careers with your organization, it is important to provide opportunities of training, courses they can enroll in and participate in organizational workshops. Policies can also help streamline career development such as an employee transfer policy that is initiated by the employee.  An open-door policy also allows employees to come in and share their thoughts furthermore, for Managers, Amrita provides a monthly People and Culture Coversation with her management team. This allows managers to build a personal and professional connection along with providing extra support with their teams. Building a comprehensive onboarding program that includes, new hire presentation, safety training, QA training etc. will help new hires transition into the organization.

3. Inclusion, Equality and Diversity

A unique way to share the diversity of the team is to visually represent where your team is from. There are endless ideas how this can be brought to life, a few examples can be in the format of a map on the wall or a pin able globe.  Achieve team cohesiveness through being transparent in your communications such as creating an internal newsletter or having organizational meetings every quarter. Furthermore, making employee focused decisions will help create equality. Lastly, building a two-way communication in majority of conversations will help create collaboration and ownership. Another way this can be achieved is through creating a marriage between self-evaluations and performance reviews.

4. Organization Empowerment

Empowering the organization can take place through many activities. A good place to get started is by embodying company values by setting examples through actions and communications along with positively reinforcing desired values by providing verbal rewards when the employee demonstrates the values. Another empowering action can be to celebrate failures. This will help break down the fear associated with doing some wrong or the worry of termination. It is important to create a safe environment that allows employees to make mistakes and learn from them.  Empowerment can also show up in the form of system integration. Allowing departments to work together and access information when they need it will allow them to make powerful decisions.

 

Tapping the “Feeder Lanes”

Where do we get the workers? Colleges have been providing our industry with workers for many years. In fact, this was obvious very recently when we toured manufacturers in Waterloo, ON as part of the CKCA National Forum. A number of attendees to the forum commented that they had graduated from Conestoga College. Its obvious that Conestoga College, located in Waterloo,  has done a great job of training and then feeding our industry with trained candidates. But given the shift in the employment market, it’s now even more important to engage with colleges to tap those “feeder lanes” when the opportunities present.

There are many ways to do this and a great example is an initiative Conestoga College started called “Jill of All Trades” which works to introduce students Grades 9-12 to the trades. This program is gaining traction and Cambrian College recently started the program as well.

We spoke to Joni Jean, Chair, Schools of Engineering & Technology and Trades & Apprenticeship at Conestoga College, who explained more about the program.

Jill of All Trades (JOAT) is a Conestoga College initiative, which Conestoga started about 8 years ago. (They were unable to run the event during the pandemic.) The college invites approximately 225 young women from local high schools to participate in the full-day event. This includes a keynote, followed by the opportunity to participate in three hands-on workshops (15 different workshops, including woodworking are typically available) throughout the day, which are led by mentors, many of whom are female. The JOAT videos can found on the following webpage. Be sure to check out the Jill of all Trades video (dated 2018), its a great visual of what takes place.

Conestoga recently trademarked the name and logo in both Canada and the United States. With the support of a national sponsor, the college is providing resources so other colleges, like Cambrian, so they can offer their own JOAT event. Conestoga’s goal is to run events across Canada at 25 separate institutions in 2025, so there will be a handful of events this year, ten or so next year, and so on.

The opportunity lies in the fact the colleges are always seeking sponsors for programs like this as well as people who can assist in delivering these unique programs. In exchange, you get a chance to meet with a demographic you may not otherwise have and you can plant some seeds. While we know students coming from college level are most suitable as employees, we also have to promote our industry to the younger generation who know little to nothing about the trades. Jill of all Trades is focussed on women in the trades, but even so, it’s a successful program you can get involved with.

But that’s not all, many colleges are looking for volunteers to sit on their Program Review Committees as well as participate in their co-op programs and offer placements, plus there are other ways to engage (watch the video presentation with Joni Jean). But one thing you may not have considered is that colleges are suffering from the labour shortage too. Which means they are looking for teachers from the industry. If you can afford a small amount of time on a regular basis to commit to teaching, there’s no better way to meet your future employees.

If you have a local college with programs that can feed your business, reach out to them and see how you can strengthen those ties. Remember, it’s not just woodworkers we need in the industry, so don’t rule out other faculties.

Recently CKCA visited Conestoga College and we met with the Faculty of Design students. It was a great afternoon and whether or not those students knew about kitchen design as a career option – they sure do now!

Watch the presentations:

American #CICM campaign attracting new people to skilled trades careers

Oct 31, 2022

Article prepared by: Chris George, CKCA Communications Consultant, CG&A Communications

Through the month of October, American construction companies conducted a public awareness campaign designed to attract new workers to consider career opportunities in the various skilled trades required in the construction industry.

The expressed goals of Careers in Construction Month (#CICM) are to inspire, recruit, and train the next generation of craft professionals and to shape positive perceptions of a career in construction.

This campaign helps construction companies effectively outreach and promote their job opportunities with attractive social media materials and useful information. And the #CICM appeal is compelling for young people and workers looking to enter the workforce or advance their careers.

The #CICM messages are a calling that is both inviting and promising: Build Your Career. The overarching theme encourages “anyone looking for a profession with life-long learning and limitless potential for growth and advancement to check out construction.”

In a day and age where most people have misconceptions about work in the trades, it is very important to highlight that a career in skilled trades offers a great opportunity. The #CICM campaign emphasizes this point by stating “Construction careers in today’s market are all about high-tech, high-stakes, huge earning potential and the opportunity to travel the world.” One of the catchy campaign taglines suggests the potential for upward mobility: “A career in construction can take you all the way to CEO.”

American companies were encouraged to reach out to local high schools and colleges to introduce themselves, tell their story and provide a glimpse of the career opportunities in construction. They were encouraged to dispel misconceptions by sharing information and data on skilled trades and explaining a student’s route to entry, including education and training contact information.

There are important take aways from this American campaign for the Canadian kitchen cabinet industry. For CKCA members, consider that we have an attractive story to tell students and all who are interested in cabinetry…. Our task is to paint the picture:

  • Given the current job vacancies and the great number of retirees in the next decade, there is a growing demand for skilled trades in jobs that provide good salaries and endless possibilities for career growth.
  • There are so many specialties within the kitchen cabinet industry, something for everyone whether you are creative, mathematically inclined, attentive to detail, wanting to work with your hands, or to acquire technological expertise.
  • When you complete a technical degree, apprenticeship or craft training certificate, you are highly marketable in the job market. And that skilled trade can take you anywhere in Canada or around the world.

Just as the #CICM campaign has, our kitchen cabinet companies must speak directly to the next generation of Canadian workers and inspire them to “Build Your Future.”

CKCA supporting members with their skilled labour shortage concerns

August 2022

Written by Chris George, CG&A Communications and CKCA Communications Advisor

We have all become too familiar with the realities of Canada’s skilled labour shortages. Two-thirds of Canadian businesses struggle to hire workers and a quarter have difficulties retaining employees. Skills Canada documents a 40 per cent shortage in skilled trades today and this is projected to grow as workers age and retire.

Certainly, the country’s skilled labour shortage is impacting all areas of Canada’s business community. Given its critical importance, CKCA is actively supporting its membership by keeping a pulse on the issues at play and by providing tools for members to profile their businesses and attract new employees.

CKCA keeps its members abreast of the latest news, whether it is the data from Statistics Canada Labour Report or a new government program for skilled trades. For example, recently a 2022 StatsCan study was shared that provided current insights into private sector business strategies to deal with personnel recruitment, retention and training.

A 3M Canada survey tells us that there is much work to still be done to attract students to consider a career in skilled trades. Even though 96 per cent agree that the country’s workforce needs more skilled trades workers, three in four Canadians (76 per cent) say they would never pursue a skilled trade for themselves.

This 3M survey also revealed that nine in 10 (92 per cent) believe there is a lot of opportunity in skilled trades, and 91 per cent trust vocational or trade schools to give them the education needed to have a successful career. Eight in 10 (81 per cent) believe they would earn as much money in a skilled trade as they would in a career that requires a university degree.

With this appreciation for skilled trades, it remains a wonder why young people do not consider a career in a trades business. In a recent Forbes Magazine interview, CEO Mark Perna of consulting firm TFS urged employers to target messaging about the value of skilled trade careers to young workers, their parents, friends, classmates and teachers. Also, Perna asserts young people need to know more about the significant financial incentives in pursuing a career in the skilled trades.

On this point, CKCA is supporting its members by developing materials that better describes our businesses and the varied career opportunities within our industry. The Communications Committee is developing presentations for business and community meetings, for student tours, school visits and to share with guidance and career counsellors.

Statistics tell us that skilled labour challenges will be with all trades, manufacturers and retailers for years to come. We must all plan accordingly. CKCA’s efforts on this issue are aimed to give members a competitive advantage when dealing with the attraction and retention of employees.