With massive earthmovers and towering cranes reshaping this city's landscape on a daily basis, it's hard to imagine why the Calgary Construction Association (CCA) is so excited about its latest project - an interior wall that runs a mere eight metres in length.

Hard to imagine - that is, until you see how the wall showcases some of the most impressive commercial and institutional construction projects undertaken by CCA members in this city over the last decade, says Malcolm Holbrook, CCA chair and president of Pockar Masonry Ltd.

This week will mark the formal unveiling of the latest addition to the CCA's historic construction wall of pictures, located in a seminar room at the CCA's headquarters, 2725 12 Ave. N.E.

Held in conjunction with a celebration of the organization's 60th anniversary, the unveiling party includes special guests Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier, Consulting Engineers of Alberta president Terry Gowing and Alberta Association of Architects president Jane Pendergast.

Mike Sturk, Business Edge
Malcolm Holbrook and the CCA's historic wall of pictures.

The latest addition to the CCA's photograph collection represents 50 projects completed since 1994, including construction projects at SAIT and the University of Calgary, Banker's Hall, the LRT expansion and major projects benefiting Calgary's tourism and convention industries.

The CCA is the only association across the country to have such a pictorial display, and the newest photographs continue a larger collection that dates back to the 1875 construction of Fort Calgary, says CCA executive vice-president Dave Smith.

A non-profit voluntary membership association with about 525 members, the CCA promotes the interests of those engaged in, or directly or indirectly connected with, the construction industry in the Calgary area.

That industry is booming these days, says Smith.

Commercial (including condominium projects with 20-plus storeys), institutional and light industrial construction account for about 12 per cent of the national GDP. In Alberta, that translates into $30 billion a year, with one of every nine Albertans employed in some aspect of the construction business.

Buoyed by provincial government announcements that predict $5.5 billion in construction contracts in Alberta over the next three years, the CCA recently surveyed its members regarding their business expectations for 2005.

Overall, members anticipate 2005's construction schedule to surpass this year's workload by 30 per cent.

Smith says one survey responder reported the volume of business he's lined up for 2005 has already met his entire volume for 2004.

Such a forecast is great news for the industry, but will exacerbate continuing shortfalls in skilled labour, says Holbrook. Increases in construction activity, combined with an ongoing focus on safety and technology, mean "training is at the forefront of everybody's minds in construction." Even with all the activity here, Smith says Alberta is currently a net exporter of skilled tradespeople, a fact he attributes to a strong industry and quality apprenticeship programs.

To help its members navigate a tough labour market, the CCA supports high school-based apprenticeship programs and operates a youth employment program (YEP) for young people, ages 16-24, who no longer attend school.

That program runs for three weeks "and after the work experience is over, 90 per cent of the youth are hired," says Smith.

Employers are encouraged to talk to the participating youth about the long-term benefits of formal apprenticeship programs.

A new construction calendar for 2005, a pet project of Holbrook's, will carry the CCA's positive messages about the construction industry to other industry stakeholders.

It uses photographs and information boxes to highlight CCA issues, including the organization's role in YEP, as well as a scholarship and award program supported by the CCA and the association's involvement with a new University of Calgary study on construction productivity.

The industry has also stepped up its efforts to communicate the labour shortage to the provincial government and Alberta parents, both of whom need to hear the CCA's message "that you can make a good living in the construction industry," says Smith.

He figures a well-equipped junior or senior high school shop takes four times the space of a traditional lecture-style classroom.

But the investment is worth it, insists Smith, since tradespeople are well paid and can work their way up into management and ownership positions.

"All I ever wanted to do was construction," says Holbrook, who moved to Calgary from a farm in the Cremona area about 30 years ago, apprenticed at SAIT and began his masonry career with the same company he now owns.

That kind of opportunity still exists in today's construction industry, says Holbrook.

Getting a trade, he adds, "is just the beginning, not the end."

Construction Facts

* Fort Calgary, built in 1875, was completed at a cost of $2,400.

* The basement of the historic Palliser Hotel was excavated by hand in 1911.

* Glenmore Dam was built in 1931 as part of a national labour relief program.

* When McMahon Stadium opened, the builder paid a $1,000 fine for taking an extra day to complete construction. The fine, paid in nickels, was part of the half-time fun at the stadium's first football game.

* It took 1.5 million people-hours to build Banker's Hall.

- Source: CCA

(Joy Gregory can be reached at joy@businessedge.ca)