The building, development and renovation industry builds homes and cities which creates jobs and provides employment for thousands of GTA residents.
The industry is one of the largest employers in our region. Building and renovating involves a number of different professionals all working together to build communities. Just last year alone, more than 196,000 people were employed in a wide variety of on-site and off-site jobs.
In addition to builders, developers and a wide range of tradespeople, the industry employs everyone from urban planners and lawyers to marketers and designers and dozens more. In fact, each of those construction cranes you see across the city represent up to 500 jobs.
As the GTA continues to grow by up to 100,000 every year, so does its need for new homes. That means opportunities for people looking at careers in building, development or renovation. These careers include office work, jobs on construction sites, positions in sales offices and in many other well-paying professions. In 2015, people who work in the industry collectively earned $11.4 billion in wages.
BILD represents all facets of the industry and our 1,450 member companies include more than just builders and developers. Some of our members manufacturer and supply the materials used to build homes, some plan and prepare the site for development, and others assist purchasers in the home-buying process. These are just a few examples of all the people involved in building great cities.
Each year BILD holds a number of award programs that recognize excellence in the industry. One of them is our Associate Awards, which recognize members for their quality of service, professionalism, leadership and innovation when working with builders or renovators. What makes this awards program special is that nominees are evaluated by their clients as opposed to a panel of judges. The Associate awards recognize members in three distinct categories which reflect the diversity of our membership. They include Manufacturer or Supplier of the Year, Trade Contractor of the Year and Service Professional of the Year.
This year’s Manufacturer or Supplier of the Year award was presented to Shipway Stairs Ltd. The Burlington-based stairs and rails manufacturer received lots of praise from clients, particularly when it comes to its communications, products and service.
The Trade Contractor of the Year is another annual Associate Awards category. This year’s award was presented to N. De Luca Plumbing, a plumbing company from Vaughan. Their clients were very happy with how approachable, professional and hard-working their team is. The company is receiving this award for the second year in a row the third time since 2012.
Avid Ratings Canada won the Service Professional of the Year award for the second time in three years. The company helps members of the building industry enhance their custom experience by designing virtual tours, collecting data for surveys and assisting with social media outreach. One of their past clients even said there is no better firm in the industry.
We are very proud to work in an industry in which such a diverse group of professionals all work together to build complete communities in the GTA for people to live, work and play in.
