Keynote Hosts Executive Roundtable on Talent for Construction & Real Estate Leaders
The executive roundtable brought together 25 key stakeholders in the local Ottawa construction and real estate community to discuss the current state of talent in the city. The topic evoked a range of reactions and several core concerns were raised and expressed about how to improve the labour market and talent pool in our city. Here is a summary of key takeaways from the evening: Honour among peers – it was clear that Ottawa has a tight ecosystem. Friends, colleagues and competitors work with a distinct set of rules that respect one another and their employee base. It is crucial that the respect that has been built over decades remains and companies do not start ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’ To accomplish this it is clear new talent from outside Ottawa is needed. Relationship building – with new talent coming to the market and transitioning into the sector it is important to find ways to network and build strong understanding of the trades and their competencies in the local market. Education sector needs to engage with employers – There is a clear disconnect between post secondary institutions and employers. There seems to be a continous lack of engagement and commitment from our institutions to the talent needs of these sectors. A strong emphasis on working with the high schools was identified, including recommendations on how to open the doors to younger students and showcase the opportunities in the sector. Spousal support – positioning Ottawa as a great place to live is crucial to attract the talent that we need. Crucial initiatives need to be developed to ensure spouses, partners and families are integrated into the community and supported in their own job searches. Industry Ecosystem – there are several organizations such as The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Ottawa Construction Association (OCA) and the Ottawa Board of Trade(OBOT) who are actively looking at ways to support the trades. It is felt that collectively they can do more than individually and a desire to see the advocacy groups work together was clear. This feedback has provided our team at Keynote Group with several angles to explore and we will be rolling out several pilot projects with our clients to help address some of the challenges they addressed. It is an exciting time and demand on talent has never been higher. We are excited to continue to play our part in maximizing the success of these sectors. 
In this photo: Jeff Clarke, CEO at Inflector Environmental Services, Roch Picknell, President & CEO at Wired Synergy Inc., Julie Taggart, VP Leasing & Operations at Taggart Realty Management 
In this photo: James Baker, CEO at Keynote Group, Marc Morin, Partner at Koble Commerical Real Estate, Bernie Myers, Senior Vice President at Regional Group 
In this photo: Brad Ezard, COO at Keynote Group, Ashley Hopkins, CEO at Paradigm Properties, Kyle Soutar, Director of Finance at Sussex Retirement Living 
In this photo: Marc Morin, Mathew Davis, President at Davis Landscape & Design, James Baker, Brad Ezard, Kevin Kelley, Kyle Turk, VP Marketing at Keynote Group