Conversations about diversity and inclusion in construction are important to keep moving the industry forward.

We worked with Procore’s Kimberly Corlett, Industry Partnership Manager, to share her journey with Le monde de l’électricité and Electrical Industry News Week.

Her story challenges stereotypes and highlights the positive impact of inclusivity in the construction professional communities. Kimberly recounts how she got her start in construction, the obstacles she faced, the role advocacy has, and how we can move forward together for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive industry.

Kimberly said, “I hope the story inspires even just one person to pursue their dream in the construction industry.”

Read her story here.

To further amplify her story, we worked with construction associations, including Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC) – Women in Mechanical Contracting, Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario (ECAO), Canadian Construction Association (CCA), Batimatech, among others.

Briser les barrières avec Kimberly Corlett de Procore

Les conversations sur la diversité et l’inclusion dans la construction sont importantes pour continuer à faire avancer le secteur.

Nous avons travaillé avec Kimberly Corlett, responsable des partenariats industriels chez Procore, pour partager son parcours avec Le monde de l’électricité et Electrical Industry News Week.

Son histoire remet en question les stéréotypes et souligne l’impact positif de l’inclusion dans les communautés professionnelles de la construction. Kimberly raconte comment elle a débuté dans la construction, les obstacles qu’elle a rencontrés, le rôle que joue la défense des intérêts et la manière dont nous pouvons progresser ensemble vers une industrie plus diversifiée, plus équitable et plus inclusive.

Kimberly a déclaré : “J’espère que cette histoire inspirera ne serait-ce qu’une seule personne à poursuivre son rêve dans l’industrie de la construction”.

Lisez son histoire ici.

Afin d’amplifier son histoire, nous avons travaillé avec des associations du secteur de la construction, notamment Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC) – Women in Mechanical Contracting, Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario (ECAO), l’Association canadienne de la construction, et Batimatech, entre autres.

In order to make the Procore How We Build Now survey relevant to the Canadian media, we suggested the integration of compelling Canadian topics.

We developed a Canadian narrative covering local issues such as the labour shortage, digital maturity and the state of housing across Canada.

We focused on regional differences, timed media outreach around local events and used third-party experts including leaders from educational institutions and regional associations.

We garnered national and regional coverage in the business press and in construction trades (ranging from large and small general contractors to subcontractors to public sector to urban/city development to other special trades, in both English and French). We also secured front-page stories in construction association publications and multi-page feature pieces in trade outlets.

We generated 40+ original articles, reaching more than 170 outlets across Canada (not counting newswire pickups), receiving more attention by all counts for the survey report than all the other international regions combined.

To help address the ongoing labour shortage, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is making strides to attract more young people to the skilled trades. Our team spoke with SAIT faculty members and staff to see what’s being done to attract more youth to the program, and how SAIT — through its partnership with Procore.org — is preparing students for digital workflows on construction jobsites. Read the article here.

We arranged a discussion between Dr. Reva Bond, Dean of SAIT’s School of Construction, and Electrical Industry News Week about how to retain more women in trades and the importance of government, post-secondary and industry coming together to solve the labour shortage issue. We also set up an interview for Dr. Bond with Canadian Press to further explore the topic and why it is crucial to focus on retention, beyond recruitment. Read this article (CTV News).

Every January, we’re eager to work with Procore to look ahead and share predictions for the construction industry. The 2022 trends podcast with The Construction Record was one of the top 5 pods of the year! We arranged for Procore to look ahead again for 2023. 

Read about the Canadian construction trends for 2023 (e.g. Heavy Equipment Guide, Crane & Hoist Canada, Le monde de l’électricité). We also invited media to attend a panel discussion with Canadian Construction Association and experts at Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. Panelists were modestly optimistic for 2023 and said the construction sector shouldn’t fear recession. In the first six weeks of the year, we’ve secured 30+ articles around the topic in the media and association newsletters. 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Natasha Callendar-Wilson of Bass Installation and Sasha Reed of Procore.org, the social impact arm of Procore, for a Q&A to discuss the importance of fostering mentorship and offering flexibility in the workplace. We developed the piece here and also shared the story with Glass Canada which resulted in a double-page feature article here. 

With the great projects Procore and Bass Installation have been doing, we worked with Urban Toronto to highlight one of these implementations: CIBC Square. 

Procore conducted a survey of 340 general contractors, sub-contractors, owners and government personnel across Canada to explore the impact of COVID-19. StratAmp analyzed the results, wrote the inaugural How We Build Now Canada eBook/report and shared the news with the media (examples On-Site, Heavy Equipment Guide, Crane & Hoist, Rock to Road and Plumbing+HVAC) across Canada.

The construction industry is working through the pandemic with technology as a key enabler. We helped Procore promote its Next Steps Summit, an event that looked at how the industry will progress through the unprecedented situations brought on by COVID-19. The Journal of Commerce’s Don Wall attended the summit and wrote an article highlighting the customer panel.