by Michael P. Gagne | Feb 6, 2019 | News
Shining a Northern Light on the Building Official Profession
On January 30, 2019, the OBOA’s Northern Lights Chapter hosted a student-focused career event at Collège Boréal in Sudbury. The event, spearheaded by Chapter Chair Ed Picco and Deputy Chair Jason Radley, OBOA Board Member François Couture, and OBOA’s marketing team attracted many high potential job seekers, sparked valuable conversations with the City of Greater Sudbury’s Mayor and Council, and ignited media interest about the approaching ‘silver tsunami’.
Event Highlights
The event kicked off with a presentation outlining Ontario’s need for Building Officials, the approaching “silver tsunami” of retirements in our sector, the essential role Building Officials play in our provincial economy and in protecting public safety, what employers are looking for in new hires, and more.
Attendees then heard from a panel of experts including Greater Sudbury’s Chief Building Official Guido Mazza, and department staff (Sherri Budgell, Victoria LaChapelle and Brock Sanftenberg), Sault Ste. Marie’s François Couture, local architect and Laurentian University School of Architecture professor Dennis Castellan. Northern Lights Chapter members were also in attendance to warmly greet and mingle with students following the panel discussion.
Students were enthusiastic, interacting with the panel and asking questions. Many, who were not aware of the Building Official profession prior to the event showed an interested in pursuing a Building Official career.
Event Promotion
The event was promoted via direct contacts with area schools, media outreach, and social media and attendees were asked to register online in advance. Local and regional media also covered the event, raising even more awareness among the public. All in all a resounding success.
Career Event Toolkit (Coming Soon!)
The OBOA will be “packaging” this student outreach event for implementation by other chapters who wish to host similar events across the province. The package will include step-by-step event management tips, the “Ontario Needs Building Officials” Powerpoint presentation, media outreach tools, and more. Stay tuned!
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