OHMPA unveils Student Resume Portal and awards Roads Scholars at Spring Operations Seminar
By On-Site Magazine
Asphalt Construction Skills Development resume scholars skills training student young workers
OHMPA’s Road Scholars.
The Ontario Hot Mix Producers Association (OHMPA) unveiled its Student Resume Portal at the annual Spring Operations seminar on April 20 in Cambridge, Ont. Students from Georgian and Conestoga Colleges who participated in OHMPA’s Road Scholars program, were also recognized at the same time.
The Student Resume Portal, available on OHMPA’s website, is designed to allow construction and technology students to easily post their resumes for OHMPA’s 135 member companies to view.
“Over the next decade, Ontario’s construction industry will need to attract over 100,000 new workers to keep up with growing infrastructure needs and to replace the nearly 90,000 workers currently in the workforce that are expected to retire,” said OHMPA’s marketing and communications director Abigail Wright Pereira. “This will create quite a large gap between the need for skilled workers and the labour surplus.”
The Student Resume Portal was created with input from OHMPA’s Plant & Paving Committee and is intended to connect upcoming skilled workers with the industry.
Students Rakesh Talapaneni Shanthaku and Nicholas Rojas of Conestoga College, and Robert Evan Bown and Glen Williams of Georgian College were this year’s Roads Scholars. The colleges selected students who displayed exemplary leadership in their respective programs and who expressed interest in the asphalt paving industry.
“The Roads Scholar Program was developed in 2012 through OHMPA’s Plant and Paving Committee. We are very happy by the interest generated by local colleges and the program is helping to better engage and educate young people about the industry as they are making career choices,” said Mike Deckert, chairman of OHMPA’s Plant and Paving Committee and vice-president of FLO Components. “This year we hope to expand the Roads Scholars Program as well as the Roads Scholarship Program to more colleges throughout diverse regions of Ontario.”
Preparing young people with the right skills and opportunities is vital in keeping the industry strong according to Donn Bernal, OHMPA president and general manager of Yellowline Asphalt Products Ltd. “Educating and mentoring young talent and connecting them to our industry is key for insuring a strong future for the industry. OHMPA is pleased to partner with Ontario colleges to help promote our industry to the new graduates.”
