62 caREERS n college grad’s soft skills pave way to ...This location is ideal to stay close to...
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RICHARD LYALL Special to Postmedia Network If he hadn’t learned to build relationships with T-shirt seekers, who knows if Man- deep Sarna would have been hired to help e Daniels Cor- poration build condomini- ums. The 22-year-old was hired by the prominent builder as a junior estimator at their Toronto head office last year after graduating from George Brown College’s residential construction management certificate program. He attributes his early career success to working for his parents from the age of 10, selling hip-hop T-shirts by building relationships one at a time as customers sorted through the Sarna family’s wares in their Toronto store. e soft skills he developed as a teenager and an insatiable curiosity made him stand out, says George Brown professor Bill Hawryschuk. He taught Sarna at the college’s Angelo Del Zotto School of Construc- tion Management during the 2015 program’s 14-week cur- riculum. Sarna and the other students were then placed in a 14-week job-site internship with builder members of the program’s sponsor, the Resi- dential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). When the students grad- uate, they go on to junior positions such as estimators, residential project manag- ers, project coordinators, site coordinators and superin- tendents. “Mandeep has really good people skills,” Hawryschuk said. “He’s very courteous and aware of how he makes other people feel. I’d rather have someone like that than some- one with 35 years of experi- ence who is loud and con- frontational. That approach just doesn’t work. “He’s a leader.” While Sarna has been a strong hire, Del Zotto School program co-ordinator Bill Nichols says at least 90% of the graduates in the four years of the certificate program have gone on to work for industry heavyweights such as Tridel, Great Gulf, Starlane, Green- park, Lindvest Lakeview, Remington and Arista. “The certificate program not only gives the students fantastic experience on site, but it puts them in direct contact with the very people who could give them a job at the end of the program,” says Nichols. “It has been a huge benefit for our students to get a leg up to kick-start their careers.” After meeting this year’s class, Peter De Biasio, Lind- vest vice-president of con- struction, said he was impressed and emphasized that he wasn’t worried about their lack of experience. “I always tell them, ‘don’t worry about your skills. We’ll get you there,’” says De Biai- sio. “It’s your attitude that matters.” As for Sarna, he has a few tips for this year’s class. “Enjoy every single moment of it. If you have any questions, go and ask one of the manag- ers. It doesn’t matter who you are, hard work will always pay off. Every day is a new chal- lenge and a fun opportunity to help my team.” For more on the program, visit http://bit.ly/25EPRtn. — Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), has represented the residential construction industry in Ontario since 1991. Visit www.rescon.com for more information. 62 CAREERS n The Toronto Sun n WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016 Q: I’m 36, and I’ve decided to leave my city job and apartment living and move to a farm one hour from Toronto. is location is ideal to stay close to family and friends. My plan is to farm and raise livestock, and also to run a dog kennel to help supplement my income. I have a great young hunting dog, Sheila, whom I’ve trained since she was a pup; she’ll be a wonderful lead dog and companion. To prepare for this lifestyle change, I’m going to move in with my parents for the next three months, save money, buy the property and get things ready. People think a woman doing this alone is crazy, but I’m unhappy and need to make this change. e doctors have told me that I have some kind of auto-immune disorder, but they haven’t been able to narrow it down yet. But it affects every part of my life, including my digestion. However, when I go out to the country, and eat off the land, I always feel much better, physically and emotionally. I also have some livestock experience; I’ve raised quail (and yes, I ate them), and I regularly shoot deer and bear. When I hunt, every part of the animal is either eaten or used to make things. I have a good network of people up north that I regularly work with. Do you have any advice? A: I appreciate that quality of life and health are your top priorities, and I commend you on taking this big leap. Ongoing support from your parents and friends is invaluable. Additional factors are also critical to your success. During this preparatory stage, I recommend you take a short, intensive college course on running a small business. This will help you develop a business plan, and set realistic goals and expectations on building the dog kennel business and developing different aspects of the farm. Other startup considerations are: applying for a Business Number (BN) through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), finding a small business accountant and lawyer, reviewing suitable property and liability insurance and applying for a small business loan. As for the property, you will need to build a dog kennel from scratch. Google search to connect with appropriate experts on this. Include livestock and dog veterinarians and a dog behaviourist in your search. Expand your hunting network to include your livestock considerations, whether it’s chickens, turkeys, pigs or cows. Investigate permaculture and how it could apply to the perennial crops you want to grow. Choose a local real estate agent to find the property, then carefully review the potential purchase with a lawyer you trust. To create healthy interdependence and generate revenue, rent space to an employee who could also be a like-minded friend or colleague. Working the farm and kennel in tandem, and sharing living space provides an extra measure of security, safety, comfort and fun. It’s also much cheaper to buy groceries for two than it is for one. — Vera Held (www.veraheld.com) is a coach, speaker and author of How Not to Take it Personally. Send your workplace questions to [email protected]. HELD VERA N. Make it Work College grad’s soft skills pave way to construction career SUPPLIED Graduates of George Brown College’s residential construction program have gone on to work for industry heavyweights such as Great Gulf, Greenpark, Arista, Menkes and Tridel. Preparing for a move to the country
Transcript of 62 caREERS n college grad’s soft skills pave way to ...This location is ideal to stay close to...
RichaRd LyaLLSpecial to Postmedia Network
If he hadn’t learned to build relationships with T-shirt seekers, who knows if Man-deep Sarna would have been hired to help The Daniels Cor-poration build condomini-ums.
The 22-year-old was hired by the prominent builder as a junior estimator at their Toronto head office last year after graduating from George Brown College’s residential construction management certificate program.
He attr ibutes his early
career success to working for his parents from the age of 10, selling hip-hop T-shirts by building relationships one at a time as customers sorted through the Sarna family’s wares in their Toronto store.
The soft skills he developed as a teenager and an insatiable curiosity made him stand out, says George Brown professor Bill Hawryschuk. He taught Sarna at the college’s Angelo Del Zotto School of Construc-tion Management during the 2015 program’s 14-week cur-riculum. Sarna and the other students were then placed in a 14-week job-site internship
with builder members of the program’s sponsor, the Resi-dential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).
When the students grad-uate, they go on to junior positions such as estimators, residential project manag-ers, project coordinators, site coordinators and superin-tendents.
“Mandeep has really good people skills,” Hawryschuk said. “He’s very courteous and aware of how he makes other people feel. I’d rather have someone like that than some-one with 35 years of experi-ence who is loud and con-frontational. That approach just doesn’t work.
“He’s a leader.”While Sarna has been a
strong hire, Del Zotto School program co-ordinator Bill Nichols says at least 90% of
the graduates in the four years of the certificate program have gone on to work for industry heavyweights such as Tridel, Great Gulf, Starlane, Green-park, Lindvest Lakeview, Remington and Arista.
“The certificate program not only gives the students fantastic experience on site, but it puts them in direct contact with the very people who could give them a job at the end of the program,” says Nichols.
“It has been a huge benefit for our students to get a leg up
to kick-start their careers.”After meeting this year’s
class, Peter De Biasio, Lind-vest vice-president of con-s t r u c t i o n , s a i d h e w a s impressed and emphasized that he wasn’t worried about their lack of experience.
“I always tell them, ‘don’t worry about your skills. We’ll get you there,’” says De Biai-sio. “It’s your attitude that matters.”
As for Sarna, he has a few tips for this year’s class.
“Enjoy every single moment of it. If you have any questions,
go and ask one of the manag-ers. It doesn’t matter who you are, hard work will always pay off. Every day is a new chal-lenge and a fun opportunity to help my team.”
For more on the program, visit http://bit.ly/25EPRtn.
— Richard Lyall, president of the Residential construction council of Ontario (REScON),
has represented the residential construction industry in
Ontario since 1991. Visit www.rescon.com for more
information.
62 caREERS n The Toronto Sun n Wednesday, august 17, 2016
Q: I’m 36, and I’ve decided to leave my city job and apartment living and move to a farm one hour from Toronto. This location is ideal to stay close to family and friends. My plan is to farm and raise livestock, and also to run a dog kennel to help supplement my income. I have a great young hunting dog, Sheila, whom I’ve trained since she was a pup; she’ll be a wonderful lead dog and companion.
To prepare for this lifestyle change, I’m going to move in with my parents for the next three months, save money, buy the property and get things ready. People think a woman doing this alone is crazy, but I’m unhappy and need to make this change. The doctors have told me that I have some kind of auto-immune disorder, but they haven’t been able to narrow it down yet. But it affects every part of my life, including my digestion. However, when
I go out to the country, and eat off the land, I always feel much better, physically and emotionally. I also have some livestock experience; I’ve raised quail (and yes, I ate them), and I regularly shoot deer and bear. When I hunt, every part of the animal is either eaten or used to make things. I have a good network of people up north that I regularly work with. Do you have any advice?
a: I appreciate that quality of life and health are your top priorities, and I commend you on taking this big leap. Ongoing support from your parents and friends
is invaluable. additional factors are also critical to your success. during this preparatory stage, I recommend you take a short, intensive college course on running a small business. this will help you develop a business plan, and set realistic goals and expectations on building the dog kennel business and developing different aspects of the farm. Other startup considerations are: applying for a Business number (Bn) through the Canada Revenue agency (CRa), finding a small business accountant and lawyer, reviewing suitable property and liability insurance and applying for a small business loan.
as for the property, you will need to build a dog kennel from scratch. google search to connect with appropriate experts on this. Include livestock and dog veterinarians and a dog behaviourist in your
search. expand your hunting network to include your livestock considerations, whether it’s chickens, turkeys, pigs or cows. Investigate permaculture and how it could apply to the perennial crops you want to grow. Choose a local real estate agent to find the property, then carefully review the potential purchase with a lawyer you trust.
to create healthy interdependence and generate revenue, rent space to an employee who could also be a like-minded friend or colleague. Working the farm and kennel in tandem, and sharing living space provides an extra measure of security, safety, comfort and fun. It’s also much cheaper to buy groceries for two than it is for one.
— Vera held (www.veraheld.com) is a coach, speaker and author
of how Not to Take it Personally. Send your workplace questions
HELDVera N.
Make it Work
college grad’s soft skills pave way to
construction careerSuPPlied
Graduates of George Brown College’s residential construction program have gone on to work for industry heavyweights such as Great Gulf, Greenpark, Arista, Menkes and Tridel.
Preparing for a move to the country
