Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a plan to expand and extend its support for apprentices, their families and the businesses that hire aspiring tradespeople. Read more
Occupational health and safety professionals spend a lot of time thinking about how to keep their people healthy and safe. Yet, health and safety efforts have traditionally been separated into silos with different personnel, reporting structures and marching orders. A more effective alignment of health and safety can magnify the potentially positive impact in the workplace, and employers are beginning to do just that. Read more
In Nova Scotia July 2015 (seasonally-adjusted, month-over-month and year-over-year):
– Labour force increased 0.9% (+4,300) from June 2015 to 489,300 and decreased -0.7% (-3,300) over July 2014.
– Employment increased 0.7% (+3,100) from June 2015 to 449,500 and increased 0.9% (+3,800) over July 2014.
– Unemployment increased 2.8% (+1,100) from June 2015 to 39,800 and decreased 15.1% (-7,100) over July 2014.
– Unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points from June 2015 to 8.1%.
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The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) is developing a new labour mobility tool that will help employers and apprentices ensure they have the proper documentation they need before moving from one jurisdiction to another. Read more
A recent McKell Institute Report declared that firms must “innovate or perish” and that executives are faced with a fundamental choice. They can either take “the ‘low-road’ of narrow cost-cutting and an unwinnable ‘race to the bottom’ or they can take the ‘high road’ of innovation to position themselves at the top of the value chain in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. Read more
Rob McKinney talks about a webinar he delivered that focused on a short history describing the evolution of technology in the construction industry. Read more
Looking somewhat like an elegant tent frame, a gracefully curving structure on display at a special show in Toronto is a visual demonstration of the potential of 3-D printing in design and construction, say its creators. Read more
Instead of speculating on how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — or drones — will transform the economy, California’s DroneBase is enlisting construction contractors as early adopters. Read more
The Calgary-based company has developed a reputation for producing precision crafted prefabricated components for interior construction. Barrie Loberg, chief technology officer and co-founder of DIRTT, developed the company’s ICE 3D design and specification software, which allows clients to interactively explore interior design plans using the company’s building products. Read more
Fans of the original Star Trek series know that transparent aluminum was developed by Lieutenant Montgomery “Scotty” Scott for Plexicorp on a time travel trip to 1986. However, science happens to be catching up with science fiction. Read more