Why the Construction Industry Must Build a More Diverse Workforce – Now!

By Omar Rawji, CEO & President, Prism Construction

If you walk onto most construction sites across western Canada, you won’t see the diversity this country is famous for. In British Columbia, for example, non-white workers account for 9.1 per cent of the construction workforce. Women represent only 14.6 per cent.

That’s not just a social gap. It’s an economic risk.

The construction sector is facing a well-documented labour shortage. Our workforce is aging –skilled carpenters, tradespeople, project managers, and superintendents are retiring faster than we can replace them. Meanwhile, Canada is welcoming record numbers of immigrants: 483,000 in 2024 alone, following 471,800 the year prior.

If we want to keep building, we need to welcome these workers into the industry – especially women, newcomers, and people from underrepresented backgrounds.

And this isn’t just about plugging holes in the labour pipeline. These workers bring global experience, fresh ideas, and hard work. They’re often multilingual, adaptable, and fiercely motivated. In my experience, they’re exactly the kind of people you want at your company.

Of course, change isn’t automatic. Hiring managers still rely on filters like “Canadian experience” or “local knowledge.” These are important, but they shouldn’t be immovable barriers.

Companies need to invest in training, mentorship, and onboarding programs that help newcomers succeed – and give hiring managers the tools to do things differently.

Building community

In the late 1970s, my father, Amin, left Tanzania after the government seized the possessions of its Asian citizens. With little more than determination, he landed in Vancouver and started what would become Nova Construction, the predecessor to our company, Prism.

He didn’t just build a business; he built a community. He brought his large family – his parents, five siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles – to Canada, providing stability and support. Growing up, I watched him work relentlessly – calling job sites from the car, visiting projects on weekends, and managing paperwork deep into the night.

That’s the immigrant mentality: he wasn’t going to fail.

Fast forward to 2018, when we hired Reza Norozy, an experienced construction professional who had just immigrated from Iran.

Reza remembers how he decided to be a Project Manager for Prism over other opportunities: “I was impressed with how things were being done at Prism; the teamwork, the passion, everything else,” he said.

He quickly showed us his tireless work ethic and abilities and quickly climbed the ranks. A year after being hired, we promoted him to General Manager of the company, and in 2022 he became our COO.

“When I come to work, I never watch the clock. I enjoy all of it, despite the challenges and everything else,” said Reza, speaking in a way the company’s founder might have 40 years before.

Rewriting the story

Stories like his wouldn’t happen without that first door being opened.

Not surprisingly, having a team full of these hard-working leaders is a great thing to build on. We can rejuvenate our construction workforce with young, hungry, highly intelligent people, if we focus on it.

At Prism, more than 60 per cent of our team identifies as non-white, and 20 per cent are women – well above the provincial averages in British Columbia. We didn’t get there by accident. We focused on hiring people with drive and potential, not just pedigree.

Hiring was only a minor part of the work as the training programs that followed truly determine success. Today, our company has become a training ground for many entrants into the construction field. We usually manage to retain employees, and prefer to, but sometimes they find their own paths with other companies. Honestly, we’re happy to have given them a start and we consider that a win

Imagine a construction industry that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live, where hard-working, intelligent individuals thrive, and where there are no misplaced barriers to entry.

That’s how we will grow our industry. Let’s not wait for the labour crisis to deepen before we act. Let’s build a new foundation on diverse workforces.