Lads wanted: A UK carpenter’s approach to solving labour shortages

Matt Roberts has been on both ends of the construction labour shortage and is using his real life experiences both, good and bad, to build a unique platform for workers and companies in the temporary labour space in Canada. 

After leaving the UK construction industry to settle in Vancouver, the experienced carpenter struggled to find connections and make a living wage. And after starting his own contracting company, he had to build out his own international network to source quality workers. 

With the Canadian industry facing a critical shortage of workers, Roberts felt his approach could solve two problems at once: support overseas workers looking for a better life and providing high quality and legal labour for construction. 

The result was A Few Good Lads, a labour service that specializes in construction and related sectors, and adopts a long-term approach to reinforcing the industry’s ranks. 

Raised in Sheffield, a historic steel-producing city in South Yorkshire, Roberts was immediately drawn to the trades. His family has a rich history of carpentry, furniture making and steel production, so he decided to also work with his hands.

“I went down the non-academic path and I love it,” said Roberts. “I really took a shine to it, and I was lucky enough to get trained by a master carpenter in the UK. I learned good, standard carpentry and was fortunate to work on some beautiful properties. I fell in love with it straight away and I never thought about doing anything else. I’ve always loved construction and have an interest in architecture. It’s being able to put your stamp on something.”

Coming to Canada

At 23, Roberts was at a crossroads. He could play it safe and put a downpayment on a house in his hometown or try something new. Coming from a poor background, he’d never been able to travel. So, he decided to pack his bags and explore the world. It was a years-long journey that transformed his thinking and eventually landed him in the Canadian industry. 

He saw Israel, India, parts of Asia and even lived in Australia for several years. All along the way he made friends and learned about other cultures. 

“I met some Canadians and Irish people who’d settled in Vancouver, so I decided to come see them for a few months and here I am 13 years later,” said Roberts, who also recently became a Canadian citizen.

But early on it wasn’t easy. Despite his extensive trades experience, Roberts struggled to have his credentials and experience recognized in Canada and be compensated accordingly.  

Eventually he was able to familiarize himself with the local industry, earned more and started his own contracting company. He then ran into the same problem construction companies across the country are familiar with finding quality labour. 

“I used the general labour companies that existed then and it wasn’t cutting it,” said Roberts. “The quality wasn’t there, and the guys weren’t working out.”

He began tapping into his global network that was built up from years of traveling and sourced labour from the expat community. 

“I won a project in Shaughnessy doing a big house and used my lads and all the subtrades were saying asking where I found such good workers and that’s kind of how A Few Good Lads was created.”

A home away from home

Unlike other labour services, Roberts wanted to create the kind of community and support that wasn’t there when he was starting out in Canada. 

“I wanted to give us immigrants a fair landing pad and a fair wage,” said Roberts, whose team helps workers by providing insights into moving to Canada, securing a job and finding housing. They also provide social events, meetups and support for whatever may arise. 

The process starts even before workers get on a plane. Lads has strategic partners in several countries that help vet candidates and prep them for Canadian life and the local industry. 

“We’re a home away from home and offer support all the way through, so I don’t think other competitors in our field have the same retention that we do,” said Roberts.

He noted that this feeds into long-term upskilling, which means higher wages for their workers and more experienced people for clients. 

“That’s our ethos. We want to develop people who are going to stay in Canada, be a part of the Canadian lifestyle and want to work in the industry,” said Roberts. 

Lads has been able to take people with little or no construction experience, provide relevant training and help them build careers as a foreman or site superintendent. Roberts believes that Lads is a social enterprise as much as it is a business and can be a force for good.

“It’s the same feeling I get when I have built or renovated a house for a family. This is my replacement for swinging a hammer, it’s helping these guys make a go of it,” said Roberts. 

“It’s also about giving back to Canada and being a part of the Canadian experience,” he said. “I’m a really proud recent citizen here, and it’s great knowing that some of our lads will become citizens and contribute back into the Canadian way of life.” 

Lads has its eye on expansion. They’ve seen remarkable success in Vancouver and Toronto and currently have their eye on setting up shop in Calgary, Kelowna and Vancouver Island. The big picture isn’t just helping construction. It’s about helping Canada solve a real problem that is driving up construction costs and housing prices.  

Demographic cliff

With massive parts of the construction sector forecast to retire, Roberts really believes a more refined immigration strategy could be key to maintaining the workforce. 

A recent report by BuildForce Canada found that Canada’s immigration system heavily favors university-educated applicants and overlooks individuals with trade certificates or competencies needed in the construction sector. A small percentage of applicants admitted to Canada have apprenticeable or non-apprenticeable trade certificates (4%), while a large chunk have university education (69%).

“I think focused immigration is the key solution to mitigating the current labour issues. We need to target immigration more specifically towards the industry then offer pathways to continuing training and certification in the Canadian system’” said Roberts. .” We are really proud that a Few Good Lads is able to play such a key role in connecting aspiring workers with good quality local companies” 

If you are looking for labour or recruitment services, contact the team at A Few Good Lads.