Posted on: 10-05-04 22:52:55
I have been thinking to post these thoughts for some time but have stopped myself thinking that it might give a wrong impression that i am trying to promote blue collar jobs.
But after seeing many immigrants sufferring in factories around mississauaga on $10/hr and getting stuck there i decided to share my thoughts on the "other" blue collar jobs.
While imigrants have flooded manufacturing and and warehouse labor markets not knowing that there is a highly regulated construction market which is facing stiff shortage of manpower. Normally immigrants do not go in these areas and here is a link which will give an idea on how much the workers in construction industry make in canada.
http://www.icoste.org/laborsteel.htm
Now a newcomer maynot get as much money but it will certainly be better than the usual $14-15of a regular factory job. Moreover this market is extremely regulated by the govt and contractors associations and the workers are pampered and very well protected.
Just to give you an idea that an old time sheet metal worker and the electrician on one of my projects drives a bmw and benz while me the "Project manager" comes in a pontiac and sometimes by the subway!!
There is stiff shortage of skilled workers especially in construction industry.....in beginning one starts as an apprentice under a skilled worker , the govt and the local contractors associations provides short training cources to get certified in any perticular trade. After certification one can get a skilled worker's job and then the salary gets over $30-40 sometimes even $50/hr. But it takes some time and short cources and certification to reach this level.
Do not consider this as a menial job...these guys are extremely wealthy and get a lot of respect ..... the management pampers them because there is a shortage these days and to top it all they are all unionized. which adds many other benefits. For eg ... the HVAC ( air conditioning ) workers works for only 9.5 hrs for 4 days in a week ...they get a 3 days weekend!! any work on friday,saturday and sunday is on double time!! ...pretty good eh!
most certified tradesmen do private work on the weekends as well.
You might find my posting in this thread related to this one.
http://www.canadiandesi.ca/read.php?TID=2856&page=2
If any one is interested in getting to know more about getting into these trades , do write to me and i'll try to steer you in the right direction.
I truly hope everyone finds a job in their own field and that no immigrant has to resort to this blue collar option ...but if anyone does atleast this option pays well and is stable in the long run.
Goodluck to all
Samir
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What can be imagined, can be achieved.
What MI mentioned is also true for Montreal where the construction market is red hot.
Also note...most of these skilled trades cannot be outsourced to India 
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Good information and suggestion MI. However, there would be quite a few reasons that we do not see many immigrants, especially Asians in construction industry which would range from lack of knowledge of the trade, physical abilities, social outlook (like even going into police force) and sheer fear/conception of not being able to work with those huge tough looking guys!
However, I have two questions:
1. Are these jobs only in industrial and commercial contruction or even in say residential construction and things related to home decoration (like carpentary or masonary)? I personall have been extremely interested in that field and am looking forward for some information on courses available for those things (making kitchen cabinets/decks/basement drywalling/various showcases/laying tiles, fixing pipes and things like that). Would you know any place where I can take up courses of this kind (I went to home depot but could not get proper info).
2. Would this industry welcome newcomers who are above 45 - 50 years of age?
Your replies on the above and added info would definitely be useful, atleast for me personally. Infact, I am even thinking of doing such courses and get some experience and then start such busieness of my own on smaller scale.
Chandresh
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Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
Quote:
Orginally posted by chandresh
1. Are these jobs only in industrial and commercial contruction or even in say residential construction and things related to home decoration (like carpentary or masonary)? I personall have been extremely interested in that field and am looking forward for some information on courses available for those things (making kitchen cabinets/decks/basement drywalling/various showcases/laying tiles, fixing pipes and things like that). Would you know any place where I can take up courses of this kind (I went to home depot but could not get proper info).
2. Would this industry welcome newcomers who are above 45 - 50 years of age?
Your replies on the above and added info would definitely be useful, atleast for me personally. Infact, I am even thinking of doing such courses and get some experience and then start such busieness of my own on smaller scale.
Chandresh
Chandresh, please pardon me , i am just 2 months old in this country and maynot be able to do the justice as and old timer or an expert in this field ...I'll try my best to answer .
i see a gap in this industry which i think can be filled by desis in a big way.
1. The demand for construction industry is in all segments these days , residential construction to commercial buildings to infrastructute and now even healthcare and hospital constrution has picked up.
You can get certified in any trade, it is easy to set up a small contracting company and run your own small time projects ..you dont even have to get certified just look for projects and as soon as you can get one hire skilled hands to get it done for you . that is the smallest level you can start from .
To start off and get some understanding on how construction industry works here, it will be good if you can do some small courses from construction institute and other institutes ( links below) , most courses offerred here are of constructioon management skills ...and by contacting the office of these links you will get info on getting trained in carpentry and other skilled trades as well.
there are hundreds of links but here are some links which can be used use as a starting point and these will lead you to more links and info in the industry
http://www.theconstructioninstitute.com/
Read this page fully it will answer many of your questions on how to get into this industry even for middle age people .
http://www.apprenticesearch.com/fpCorporate/corporate_Rescon.asp
http://www.183training.com/winter-frame.htm
http://www.tcanetworks.com
http://www.tbxhome.com/
2. There are many over the age of 45-50 ...yes for more physical work in field people prefer younger men. But for those over 45 the option is not just to take up physical jobs there are office jobs in contruction industry as well . Doing some courses in construction management will also help in getting into this industry.
here is what a typical construction project "office" team would look like
Project manager , Electrical engg, Civil engg, Mech engg, Cost controller, purchasing agent , risk management person/lawyer , office administrator , contracts coordinator, cost estimators,autoCad operators and sometimes we even have a business development guy on board and the team could be bigger or smaller depending on the scale of the project .
You will notice that only 3-4 people in the team are really technical all other fields are filled by non technical people ...since construction projects are on the rise there will be a demand for these support functions as well ( of course not as high a demand as skilled tradesmen)
You are right , there must be a reason why desis have not entered this field .... even i wonder why many desis are not here ...maybe they dont want to explore beyond their comfort zones , or maybe it is too intimidating not to see any desis around ...but believe me it is a fun industry to be in esp in north america..
i find myself alone as a desi in this industry it was so in US as well ...there are some desi's with architects and design engineers but very few in project management of construction or even skilled trades.
I landed into construction just by accident for the first time in US ...i was called for an interview to run a $17m project ...i had no construction experience let alone north american experience ...i made a big sales pitch showing all the confidence that i could muster ...i was shocked when i got the job over rest of the more experienced local guys. that day i learnt the power of positive attitude ....i had never done construction before in my life and here i was a 26yr old (that time) asked to run a major project for a fortune 100 company . from that day i have not stopped having fun and i still enjoy this industry .....every day is a new learing experience .... unfortunately there arent any desis around ...i'd love to see my country men in this field .... many indians probably see it as a dirty field ...In North america here it is one of the most professionally regulated field ...even for the skilled workers there is very little or no physical hard work required depending on the trade one choses, and most of the constrctuction methods are highly mechanized. and best of all the remuneration is probably better than most industries.
Getting into it is not as easy as getting into a $10/hr factory job , one has to go thru short basic trainings and safety orientations ...once done, a person can step into a world of better prospects ( even tho it is blue collar) where there is a shortage of manpower and one gets paid well, gets treated with respectand even develop own skills to do ones own business.
hope this info helps .
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HI SAMIR, I AM A PROSPECTIVE IMMIGRANT TO TORONTO.BY PROFESSION I AM A PHARMA REP.BUT I KNOW THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET THE JOB IN MY OWN TRADE.YOUR ARTICLE AROUSE MY INTEREST TO A GREAT EXTENT. I AM B.Sc(BIOLOGY). CAN I START MY INITIAL CANADIAN CAREER AS A CONSTRACTION WORKER?CAN I GET ADMISSION TO A SHORT COURSE OF ANY CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE?
Quote:
Orginally posted by dc291
HI SAMIR, I AM A PROSPECTIVE IMMIGRANT TO TORONTO.BY PROFESSION I AM A PHARMA REP.BUT I KNOW THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET THE JOB IN MY OWN TRADE.YOUR ARTICLE AROUSE MY INTEREST TO A GREAT EXTENT. I AM B.Sc(BIOLOGY). CAN I START MY INITIAL CANADIAN CAREER AS A CONSTRACTION WORKER?CAN I GET ADMISSION TO A SHORT COURSE OF ANY CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE?
You probably can. However, please try in your own field before you do so(if its important to you). Do not give up before landing.
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DC291, Honestly , I feared before starting this thread that there would be a response like yours.
I agree with Jake, please do not consider this as any of your options .... try to you level best to get into your own field , you have to give it your best shot and you might just be able to get it .
My posting is only for those immigrants who are here for a few years and could not get into their own field and for those who want to come into this field out of sheer interest in developing new skills and earning some extra bucks.
if more and more people respond like you who start considering construction blue collar jobs as their first option .... I think i'll be doing more harm than good with this thread. But if anyone wants to seriously change his field and get into construction industry , i can help in directing you to courses which will help you in getting you feet in the industry ... ....for example an accountant can become a cost controller after some familiarization and training ,...and so on ...for every 10 blue collar jobs created in construction there is one white collar job created ...the earning disparity is a reverse here ...a white collar cost controller may get $25/hr and a bule coller plumber may ger $40/hr.
construction industry is strong and booming compared to others and there are many white collar openings coming up with the strong growth in the industry.
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What can be imagined, can be achieved.
