Gold Seal – your tool to upskill your top talent
CCA’s Gold Seal Certification program can help your company better attract, grow and retain top talent.
Through things like competency assessments, professional development and continued mentorship, the professional certification program is focused on helping the industry achieve excellence through education, training and skill development.
Use competency assessments to nurture talent
Many a great foreperson, estimator, project manager, safety practitioner or superintendent starts in a different role and moves up the chain over the years. It is important to have a formal framework to identify talent, discuss future opportunities and chart a learning and mentoring path for progression.
Gold Seal’s competency assessments, which form the heart of its program, can help grow the skills of your workforce. It uses adult learning professionals, industry experts and volunteer industry practitioners to define the knowledge, skills and abilities that construction professionals working in Gold Seal designations should possess regardless of company field, size, or geography.
“One of the great things about competency assessments is that they can be used for much more than Gold Seal exam preparation,” said Alistair Robertson of Learning Forty-Two, an adult learning and development specialist who led the most recent update of Gold Seal designations and exams. “HR departments, managers, and employees can use them to help identify areas for ongoing skill development through relevant training or other learning opportunities. The competencies themselves can even be used to help hire new and evaluate existing employees.”
Lunch ’n’ Learns are helpful tools to get employees excited about Gold Seal. CCA organizes a public info webinar once a month and can also deliver one tailored to your company or group.
Getting your project recognized as a Gold Seal project is also a great way to get all eligible jobsite staff certified, subtrades included, and gain visibility for your commitment to professional development.
Get the best people for the job
Including information on Gold Seal Certification in your website’s careers section and in job postings can benefit your company in many ways. Having a clearly defined and articulated way of growing talent and investing in professional development is a big perk for applicants and can help differentiate your company from the competition. By asking for certification in job postings or by listing it as an asset, you can showcase your appreciation of professionalism and your support of professional development.
Prevent the brain drain
According to the job site Indeed, “no room to grow” is the top reason why people leave their jobs. Knowing that your employer invests in their staff is a strong motivator.
Establishing a mentoring program where Gold Seal Certified staff members help those who are just starting on their process is a great idea. Some companies have appointed an admin, HR or training contact to assist with applications.
Celebrating success
When your staff members receive their GSC, that’s cause for celebration! Some ways that employers can mark this occasion include framed certificate presentations and newsletter, website, or social media announcements. Some companies proudly display all their employees’ GSC certificates on a special wall. Many GSCs also appreciate Gold Seal branded apparel like a golf shirt, wind breaker, or hat.
Michael Parker
“The Gold Seal program was a logical choice given our commitment to customers and employees through continuous learning and our ability to influence sustainable construction practices and safety as a best-in-class industry standard,” said Michael Parker, GSC PM, GSC EST, and managing director for Jancon Construction Ltd, an established commercial interior construction management firm operating in Southern Ontario. “Jancon is a Gold Seal employer and one-third of all employees are currently enrolled in the program.”
Jancon Construction Ltd
Of course, neither life nor learning stops at GSC. We have a growing number of Gold Seal Certified professionals with two or three GSCs in different designations as they have moved from one certifiable designation to another. There is also the Professional, Gold Seal Certified (P.GSC) certification, our highest level of certification, whereby enrolled GSCs must demonstrate 30 credits worth of updating activities every two years.
To learn more about Gold Seal Certification, visit our website at cca-acc.com/workforce-excellence/gold-seal or contact our staff at goldseal@cca-acc.com for more advice on how to integrate Gold Seal into your company’s HR practices.