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TRAINING THRONESDAY: Responsibilities of Joint Health and Safety Committees

https://www.facebook.com/theicba/videos/666363617134905/

Do you serve on a joint health and safety committee in your workplace? Our Responsibilities of Joint Health and Safety Committees course is here for you! As of April 2017, all new committee members must receive eight hours of training. This course will help you fulfill that requirement.

Participants will:

  • Know how to use the OHS Regulation and WC Act to access health & safety requirements;
  • Explain the roles and functions of the Joint Committee and the Worker Representatives;
  • Learn how to perform an incident investigation;
  • Learn how to perform a formal site inspection; and
  • Develop a foundation in knowledge to:
    • Promote workplace health and safety
    • Assist in ensuring the health and safety program elements are implemented;
    • Conduct and participate in Joint Committee Meetings; and
    • Work cooperatively to address workers’ health and safety concerns.

Topics covered:

  1. Use of WorkSafe OHS Regulation;
  2. Joint Health and Safety committee and workers representatives;
  3. OHS Program;
  4. Safety Inspections;
  5. Incident investigations;
  6. Refusal of unsafe work;
  7. How to work as a committee;
  8. Different types of recommendations; and
  9. Hazard management.

You’ll also earn 8 Group A CPD Points from BC Housing! Our next session is May 17 in Burnaby, and again June 7 and July 9. Register for this or any of our other upcoming sessions at www.icba.ca/courses.

NFL Legend Troy Aikman to Headline 44th ICBA AGM

ICBA’s Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman make the announcement you’ve been waiting for – Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer (and FOX Sports commentator) Troy Aikman will be our guest at the 44th ICBA AGM Gala Dinner in Vancouver on Nov. 5. Aikman won three Super Bowls with the 1990s Cowboys, cementing his place as an icon with “America’s Team.” Tickets go on sale Sept. 5 at icba.ca/agm.

TRAINING THURSDAY: Effective Management Skills

https://www.facebook.com/theicba/videos/579635182570008/

Are you an effective manager? Could you be better? Check out our Effective Management Skills workshop!

How much untapped potential, energy, commitment and creativity currently exists within your organization, team or department?  What would it mean to your culture and bottom line if you could learn to unleash just 10% more of the latent human potential?

This course is for all managers, supervisors, team leaders or anyone who is responsible for achieving results through people and who want to bring the best out in people.

Here’s some of what’s covered:

  • Understanding group dynamics and how to develop team synergy
  • Developing clear performance expectations for the team
  • The four core elements of a high-performance team
  • The principles of effective delegation
  • The vital importance of developing clear “outcome-based” performance expectations whenever possible
  • How to listen so that people feel understood
  • How disagree someone without being disagreeable
  • The essential difference between influence and persuasion
  • How to deliver reinforcing or positive feedback in a manner that makes it meaningful

And much more! Plus you’ll earn 1 Gold Seal Credit and 7.5 CPD Points from BC Housing.

The next session is in Burnaby on August 13, followed by August 20 in Victoria, September 16 in Prince George, and October 10 in Fort St John. Visit www.icba.ca/courses for more information and to register for this or any of our other upcoming courses.

TRAINING THURSDAY: Building Code for Residential Builders

https://www.facebook.com/theicba/videos/2411307762250985/

Are you a home builder in BC? We have a brand-new course for you! Our Building Code for Residential Builders session is in Langley November 14.

Participants will learn how to read, interpret and use the BC Building Code (2018). The course is specifically targeted for constructors of small buildings and residential construction in order to allow them to discuss with confidence issues brought up by inspectors, plan checkers and/or consultants.

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Have a working knowledge of the BC Building Code (2018) and be able to reference relevant sections quickly in their day-to-day dealings with inspectors, plan checkers and/or consultants;
• Understand the differences in construction where Part 9 of the Code is used for Small Buildings
compared to Part 3-8 for larger and more complex building systems;
• Understand how various Building Codes (National, Provincial and Local) and Bylaws operate in various jurisdictions;
• Understand the 38 sections within Part 9 of the Code and their application within residential construction;
• Understand where Part 10 applies to residential construction projects;
• Recognize the shortcomings of the Code and understand how to deal with multiple interpretations.

This course is ideal for those who have little or no background in using the BC Building Code or for those wanting an update on the changes from the 2012 version. Plus, you’ll earn 7.5 CPD Points from BC Housing!
Register at www.icba.ca/courses.

NEWS RELEASE: Nothing for Job Creators and Employers in NDP Budget: ICBA

Small businesses – including thousands in construction – looking for relief from higher taxes, suffocating red tape and other anti-employer policies enacted by the BC NDP Government over the past three years, got nothing in today’s 2020-21 BC Budget, says the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).

“For job creators and employers, this was a Seinfeld ‘budget about nothing’ – but far less funny,” said Jordan Bateman, ICBA VP-Communications. “Finance Minister Carole James offered absolutely nothing to businesses staggering under the weight of higher taxes, red tape, and anti-employer policies. Small business, the economic engine of B.C., is being left to rust away.”

The Budget, balanced on a razor’s edge but with growing debt, failed to include any meaningful funding for a Massey Tunnel replacement, no tax relief for employers, a tepid reannouncement of some union-focused trades apprentice programs, and no new major capital projects.

“The Massey Tunnel replacement continues to be stalled, which should anger tens of thousands of commuters at B.C.’s worst bottleneck,” Bateman said, noting the cancelled BC Liberal-started bridge would have been 60% complete today. “The NDP are running out of money after unnecessarily overspending by as much as a billion dollars on the Pattullo, Broadway subway, and Highway 1 expansion – just to give its building trades union supporters a monopoly on those projects. They’ve blown the money they should have put toward Massey, and commuters pay the price.” Continue reading “NEWS RELEASE: Nothing for Job Creators and Employers in NDP Budget: ICBA”

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY #10: The ‘Selfies’ of Emotional Intelligence 

Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details. 

After two weeks off, I arrived at our new office to find some ICBA Wellness swag put together by our Wellness champions Mina, Kerry and Jenny — including a towel, water bottle and (best of all!) some dark chocolate. It was a nice touch as we moved into our third month in the program, looking at emotional intelligence. 

There are five elements of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. 

I recently ran across this quote from Mr. Rogers, and it really stuck out to me: 

“Part of the problem with the word ‘disabilities’ is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of people who can’t feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren’t able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities.” 

Isn’t this the core need for emotional intelligence? 

Today, I’m pondering the two “selfies” in how we define emotional intelligence – self-awareness and self-regulation. Self-aware people know how they feel, and know how their emotions and actions affect the people around them. I think we are all growing in this; how many times have you been upset with someone and then later traced it back to emotion you had about something else? A bad day at work spills over at home?  

That leads into self-regulation. Being aware of what you’re feeling and then governing yourself appropriately. Self-regulating people rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. 

In other words, they’re a little like Mr. Rogers! Extending grace to themselves and others, because they are connected to the emotions that are driving them. (Side note: if you’ve never seen the Tom Hanks film It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, find it and watch it. It’s outstanding, and you’ll see why so many people have affection for Mr. Rogers.) 

ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 50 companies, and thousands of construction professionals, better understand mental health. The program is free for ICBA members — see icba.ca/wellness. 

 

IN THE NEWS: ICBA’s Chris Gardner on the 2021 Federal Election

The following first appeared in the Journal of Commerce on August 18, 2021:

Canadians are going to the polls this fall to choose who will lead the country. Parties have five weeks to lay out their vision.

Leaders in Western Canada’s construction sector explained the issues that matter to them and what they hope is addressed by the candidates.

Chris Gardner, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association in B.C., wants to know how candidates are going to ensure Canada is able to compete internationally.

“Our competitiveness has been slipping,” said Gardner, noting Canada ranks 63rd globally in processing construction permits.

He explained this is one of the root causes of why many major urban centres across the country are facing housing affordability issues.

“In Vancouver it can take up to four years to approve a project. In many cases that is longer than it even takes to build it,” he said, adding candidates must explain how they intend to adjust the regulatory or tax systems to improve economic competitiveness.

Gardner said worker shortages are impacting the country’s entire construction sector and action must be taken.

“We are going over a demographic cliff,” said Gardner. “The only relief valve is immigration. We simply don’t have enough people entering the workforce and it is a threat to our long-term competitiveness.”

Gardner explained even if Canadians began entering the trades at higher levels, the educational infrastructure isn’t there to train them. He said some trades in B.C., like glaziers or ironworkers, only have one place to train.