Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) has outlined its fifteenth Road Building Academy, this winter from Feb. 28 to March 4, 2022 at the BMO Institute for Learning in Scarborough.
“The academy brings world-class instructors and courses from across North America to Ontario,” ORBA says in a statement. The academy offers 23 courses of which 12 are new. Courses cover management, leadership, business practice, technical and safety, and legal topics.
“The academy is always looking to add new and relevant courses that keep you and your employees ahead of ongoing changes in the construction industry,”ORBA says.
New courses for 2022 include Navigating and Promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Crisis Management, and Navigating Supply Chain Risk-Supply Chain Engineering and Deconstruction.
Technical and safety new course topics include: Occupational Health & Safety – The Next Level, and Ontario Traffic Manual Book 7 & Traffic Management – For Road Builders by Road Builders.
“For 15 years the Road Building Academy has provided the industry with a diverse array of learning opportunities,” ORBA CEO Bryan Hocking said on Oct. 25. “Each year we strive to expand the curriculum with new courses that keep participants engaged in life-long learning. We are also very particular and hire only world-class instructors to enhance the learning process.”
Once again in 2022 the academy will offer a certificate in Project Management I in conjunction with the University of Waterloo. New for this year, the Academy will offer Project Management II. The curriculum is compatible with the project management industry standard set by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and courses qualify for Professional Developments Units (PDUs)/Contact Hours.
Companies considering registering for the Academy are encouraged to take advantage of the Canada-Ontario Job Grants Program, which gives direct financial support for employee training. Funding is available to small, medium and large businesses planning to deliver short-term training to employees.
All ORBA Road Building Academy courses are eligible for funding. Employers are eligible for as much as $10,000 in government support per person for training cost.
Part of the Road Building Academy Program includes eight online courses, powered by BuildForce Canada. Online courses can be taken at any time.
The 2022 ORBA Road Building Academy is set to take place in person. All safety protocols will be in place to ensure everyone’s safety. Class sizes will have a limited capacity. Therefore, it is important to register early. Contingency plans are in place to move all courses online if needed.
For more information about the 2022 Road Building Academy, online courses and the Canada-Ontario Job Grant program, visit www.orba.org/academy.