EP 16 · 2021-08-16 · 54:35
Nova Scotia Has No Contractor Licensing — And That's a Problem | NSCSC's Trent Soholt
Trent Soholt, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council, explains how the province's ICI construction help desk bridges contractors, unions, government, and training providers to address workforce, diversity, and technology gaps.
TS
Trent Soholt
Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council (NSCSC-ICI)
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:04Intro and Trent's background — Dan welcomes Trent; Trent describes his municipal project-management roots in Alberta, relocation to Nova Scotia, and how he evolved from researcher to Executive Director by chasing funding and partnership opportunities.2:20NSCSC mandate and labour-market forecasting — NSCSC focuses on Nova Scotia ICI construction: labour forecasting, career awareness, and connecting contractors, unions, training providers, and government. They model workforce demand for major projects, including the $1.05B Cape Breton healthcare surge and $2-2.5B mainland pipeline.7:10Trades Exhibition Hall and Speed Trades — NSCSC built the first Trades Exhibition Hall in North America in 2014, now at 35 trades across 14 booths. The 'Speed Trades' rotation gives youth a hands-on, speed-dating-style exposure to all ICI trades, drawing groups from Yarmouth to Sydney. Winnipeg opened the second such facility in 2021.11:00Nova Scotia's workforce diversity and culture shift — Trent contrasts Alberta's transient workforce culture with Nova Scotia's community-connected, blue-collar-positive attitude. He explains new provincial tender language requiring diversity and community benefit agreements, and how NSCSC helps contractors navigate that compliance.14:50Contractor licensing, regulatory gap, and help desk role — Trent reveals that contractor-level licensing doesn't exist in Nova Scotia — only the individual worker must be certified. He explains the regulatory gap (e.g. an employer of electricians faces no employer-level framework) and where NSCSC fits: neutral connector, not gatekeeper or lobbyist.20:00Funding, training programs, and navigating government — NSCSC helps contractors find and access provincial and federal training funding (START program, graduate opportunity programs, apprenticeship funding). Trent explains why contractors avoid these programs — time, intimidation, not knowing where to start — and how a single call can unlock them.25:50AR simulator, mobile units, and construction tech — NSCSC's augmented-reality trailer green-screens the inside and places workers on a virtual I-beam 200 feet up, validated by real iron workers as 'scarier than the real thing.' They also piloted exoskeletons, wearable computers, tablet programs, and a VR sandblasting simulator — bridging construction's openness to technology.34:30Quality management training and QMP — NSCSC offers quality management (QMP) training aimed at foremen and supervisors, introducing quality assurance fundamentals for larger infrastructure projects without certifying contractors outright. They connect contractors to specialists who can build formal quality plans.40:50Government relations, tendering, and COVID realities — NSCSC sits 'one foot in government, one foot in industry' — facilitating research and business cases for procurement change but not lobbying. COVID raised live questions about testing, vaccines, and site-access rules; Trent praises Atlantic Canada's pandemic response and expresses optimism for the region.51:40Closing and call to action — Dan and Trent wrap with a call to contractors and youth to reach out to NSCSC (nscsc.ca), addressing skepticism about free help: government and federal funding covers the cost, and 'it just might not have to come out of your pocket.'
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault sits down with Trent Soholt, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council (NSCSC), a provincially and federally funded non-profit that serves as the 'help desk' for the ICI (industrial, commercial, institutional) construction sector. Trent recounts his path from municipal project management in Alberta to leading NSCSC, now growing from 3 to 20 staff. The conversation covers NSCSC's mandate: labour-market forecasting (modeling the ~500-worker Cape Breton healthcare surge), the Trades Exhibition Hall (North America's first of its kind, with 35 trades across 14 booths, including a 'Speed Trades' rotation), mobile units, an augmented-reality iron-worker-at-heights simulator, exoskeleton and wearable-tech pilots, contractor licensing reform, diversity and community benefit agreements now mandated in provincial tenders, quality management training, and how contractors can access provincial and federal funding programs. Trent articulates NSCSC's positioning as 'one foot in government, one foot in industry' — neutral facilitator, not a lobbyist.
// THE LESSONS
See all 10 lessons ▸Labour-market forecasting by project value and duration lets contractors and government anticipate trade-by-trade workforce needs before a major project peaks.
“based on past experiences we can then look at what's the labor breakdown going to be by trade”
A hands-on 'speed trades' rotation — not a single-day immersion — is what actually holds youth attention and converts interest into apprenticeship inquiry.
“what was most successful and kept the young individuals attention is to give them like almost like a speed dating experience”
In Nova Scotia, contractor-level licensing does not exist; only the individual worker must be certified — leaving a significant public-safety regulatory gap that NSCSC is actively researching.
“there's no licensing for the contractor in the province but for the individual you have to be registered”
New provincial tender language now mandates diversity and community benefit compliance from contractors, creating an immediate need for guidance on how to meet those requirements.
“last june put in some language into provincial tenders that says you will do a better job of being more diverse”
Augmented reality can replicate the physiological fear response of working at heights — iron workers called NSCSC's I-beam simulator 'scarier than the real thing' — making it viable for safety awareness training without job-site exposure.
“every one of them came out of that trailer going that's as real as the real thing”
Exoskeletons can reduce lifting load by roughly 40%, potentially extending a tradesperson's working life by up to 10 years — a direct answer to the aging skilled-trades workforce problem.
“you can lift that 40 percent difference that you couldn't before and safely you're gonna let people work 10 years longer”
Small contractors avoid government training-funding programs more from time pressure and perceived complexity than from actual ineligibility; a single phone call to an intermediary like NSCSC is often all that's needed to start.
“i've had contractors say no it's daunting for me to call the 1-800 number yeah i can call you know trent”
A sector council operating 'one foot in government, one foot in industry' can facilitate procurement and policy change that industry alone cannot lobby for and government alone cannot design.
“the province has said they view sector councils as having one foot in government one foot in industry”
Nova Scotia's compact geography is a structural advantage for province-wide career-awareness programs; the Trades Exhibition Hall model couldn't scale the same way in Ontario or Alberta.
“to put a facility in ontario or alberta geography itself is a barrier to a lot of that experience we don't have that same”
Funding a novel industry facility like a Trades Exhibition Hall requires iterating back and forth between government and industry multiple times; one 'no' from either side is rarely final.
“we went back to industry went back to the province went back to the industry and finally got the province to commit”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Story · 5:51
“we went to the province and it's funny i remember going to the province with the first ask”
Framework · 8:14
“what we have found is what was most successful and kept the young individuals attention”
Hot take · 11:18
“this is a tough question coming from alberta”
Hot take · 13:43
“our sector is very white and male”
Hot take · 15:00
“we haven't built a hospital in this province in forever”
Hot take · 19:56
“if you want to start a masonry contracting company there's nothing you have to do”
Story · 23:01
“there are some contractors out there who don't do that”
Story · 34:55
“i would love to simulate working at heights”
Emotional · 36:00
“i think we may have to do some adjustments to this because people do look for that lanyard”
Hot take · 36:56
“there's the perception of construction being low skilled low paid grunt work”
Framework · 37:36
“there's a startup in california that i've reached out to”
Story · 40:14
“a contractor said i can't afford to train and simulate a real-life experience to the degree i want”
Emotional · 51:15
“when i was working out west you'd be an hour to an hour and a half getting to work”
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// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
In Nova Scotia, contractor-level (employer-level) licensing does not exist; only the individual worker must be certified.
Nova Scotia's apprenticeship/trades regulatory framework certifies individual tradespersons (Certificates of Qualification) but does not impose an employer-level contractor license for ICI construction companies. This is confirmed by NS Labour and Workforce Development materials and TrustedPros lice…
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council (NSCSC-ICI)Trent SoholtTrades Exhibition Hall (TEH)Bayers Lake Community Outpatient CentreCape Breton Regional Municipality Healthcare Redevelopment
// PROJECTS NAMED
QE2 Health Sciences CentreBayers Lake Community Outpatient CentreCape Breton Regional Municipality Healthcare RedevelopmentTrades Exhibition Hall (TEH)
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · sarpkh8x2JI