JEN COL shows their green spirit in support of the Logan Boulet Effect
April 7, 2022 – Green was definitely the color of the day! JEN COL staff turned up in their green shirts in full force today to support organ donor awareness and registration across Canada in honor of Humboldt Broncos defenseman Logan Boulet.
Logan tragically lost his life along with 15 others in a bus crash on April 6, 2018. His parents, Bernadine and Toby Boulet donated Logan’s organs so that six lives could live on. They did so because Logan told his parents he was registering as an organ donor and that he was inspired by his coach and mentor Ric Suggitt.
This selfless act is known across Canada as the #LoganBouletEffect. Learn more and become a registered donor today – https://greenshirtday.ca/
Celebrating Women in Construction Week & International Women’s Day
In celebration of Women in Construction Week and International Women’s Day, we are highlighting a few of the awesome women here at JEN COL. We asked each of them to share their thoughts on women’s roles in construction.
Project Manager
Vicky recently joined JEN COL as a Project Manager and has been in the construction industry for over 20 years.
What makes you proud of working in the construction industry?
When I can drive around and point at buildings and say “I was part of that build”. To know that you started with a blank slate and created something that people are using daily.
What’s the best part of your job?
When we reach a scheduled milestone and everyone from subtrades, consultants and owners feel the pride of having reached an important accomplishment. Everyone has that feeling of teamwork and it keeps the project moving forward with a positive feeling.
How do you think construction can attract more female candidates?
Construction can be a tough industry to work in as a female, I have been fortunate to have had some great mentors in my career to help me navigate through some difficult situations. I think if more women who are in the industry mentored younger women (like a buddy system) who are interested it would help them in what can sometimes be a bit scary in a male dominated industry.
Who inspires you?
Men, women, children. Anyone who is always trying to better themselves or their community. Those feel good stories always inspire me to try to be a better person personally and professionally.
First Year Apprentice
Chloe is a First Year Apprentice who is doing great things at our Quesnel Junior School project site in Quesnel, BC.
What makes you proud of working in the construction industry?
It’s great to see more women coming into the industry and showing that women are equal to men in construction.
What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is finishing a hard task, Successfully!
How do you think construction can attract more female candidates?
I think women deserve to be in construction just as much as men do and by me being here and other women doing it too is just proving that.
Who inspires you?
My Papa inspires me!
Human Resources Specialist
Shawna is JEN COL’s Human Resources Specialist who supports all functions of the HR department, including recruitment and onboarding, training and development, employee relations and performance management.
What makes you proud of working in the construction industry?
As a previously under-represented demographic, it’s nice to see the growth of a strong female presence in the industry. It’s also wonderful to work for a company that promotes this growth.
What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is the people. In the roles that I have had, it always comes back to having that touch-point with people in a very personal way.
How do you think construction can attract more female candidates?
There are some good foundations being set through different groups to attract female talent. It’s just a matter of finding means to communicating them out. For example, making the groups visible within high schools.
Who inspires you?
My HR mentor inspires me. We met while working together at a previous job. She has worked her way up the HR ladder and is now a successfully self-employed consultant. She shows me that you never stop growing and achieving in an area that you are passionate about.
First Year Apprentice
Phoenix is a First Year Apprentice making her mark at our Quesnel Junior School project site in Quesnel, BC.
What makes you proud of working in the construction industry?
It feels great making something permanent; just like this school we’re building in Quesnel – knowing that it’s going to be part of the community forever.
What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is learning new things and seeing the progress of my work!
Who inspires you?
My auntie inspires me. She’s a boiler maker!
JEN COL goes green in support of the Logan Boulet Effect
April 7, 2021 – Today the Orange & Blue turned Green! For the third consecutive year, JEN COL staff turned up in their green shirts to support organ donor awareness and registration across Canada in honor of Humboldt Broncos defenseman Logan Boulet.
Logan tragically lost his life along with 15 others in a bus crash on April 6, 2018. His parents, Bernadine and Toby Boulet donated Logan’s organs so that six lives could live on. They did so because Logan told his parents he was registering as an organ donor and that he was inspired by his coach and mentor Ric Suggitt.
This selfless act is known across Canada as the #LoganBouletEffect. Learn more and become a registered donor today – https://greenshirtday.ca/
My Personal Journey in Construction
Written by Kyla Schultz, Chief Financial Officer, JEN COL Construction
There’s no other industry I would rather be in than construction and there’s no other role than construction finance that I can imagine doing. It’s the combination of these two passions that has taken me to where I am today – Chief Financial Officer at JEN COL Construction. How many professionals in other industries have the opportunity to be a part of building a lasting legacy—schools, hospitals, fire halls, community recreation centres, parks, theatres—that will be there for generations to come?
Before joining JEN COL in 2007, I worked for two other local construction firms in Edmonton, but it wasn’t until I came to JEN COL that my career really started to take shape. Immediately I noticed a company whose owners truly cared for their people and nurtured the careers of their staff by providing opportunities to learn and grow. I was hired by Yvonne Jodoin, one of the co-founders of the company, and she empowered me to make decisions right away and gave me the chance to develop my skills in the area of construction finance.
Being a smaller company when I joined JEN COL—and having the desire to learn and be involved—I was able to get a full 360° view of how each department works together through every stage of a construction project; from the initial business development and estimating side, progressing through to the various stages of the construction lifecycle, and finally onto project close. It’s not a view everyone gets the chance to see, so I know I’m very fortunate. The real key for me, however, was not sitting on the sidelines, but taking action and earning a seat at the table amongst a group of internal partners with as much passion for building a better future as I have. It was also a relatively unique experience, given I was only one of a small handful of females in the company at the time.
I was always involved in the finance side of construction, but I think being engaged with and participating in the other areas of the construction process helped develop my critical thinking and, to this day, informs the strategic insight needed in construction finance. Finance plays such a pivotal role in the success of any construction company (and project) and because of that, my team and I always operate with the strategic objectives of the company in mind. What I recognized, however, as I began taking more of a leadership role in finance at JEN COL, was the lack of formal training specific to construction accounting in schools. Similar to when I started in the industry, much of the special nuances involved in construction finance was still self taught and self learned. This was one of the reasons I, along with a few colleagues from the construction industry, helped establish the Edmonton chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) in 2014 – one of only two CFMA chapters in Canada. I am still a member of this great organization that brings financial professionals together to enhance the construction industry.
Construction finance is not just about finance, it’s about teamwork. From every facet, construction is about collaborating with your team to overcome obstacles, and the finance team is a big part of this. With every new project there are new and interesting challenges, but inevitably strong networks are formed and everyone on the team depends on one another to get the job done. To me, this is perhaps the most rewarding part for me and my team – working together is really the sweet spot in accounting.
Today, as the CFO of one of Alberta’s most respected construction services firms, I manage all financial aspects of the company while taking an active role in setting strategic direction; and I am proud to say I was recently invited into the ownership group at JEN COL. I’m equally delighted that we now have over a dozen women in various roles in the company, from human resources and accounting to business development and project management and positions in the field as well. Our core purpose at JEN COL is to Build a Better Future, which ironically has less to do with constructing physical buildings and has more to do with communities and people, our staff included. It’s very exciting for me to see so many women not only work here but thrive and become leaders in their roles; and it gives me great pleasure to help motivate more women to pursue a career in construction.
In addition to mentoring some of JEN COL’s future leaders, another aspect of my role that I’m extremely passionate about—and the mission for the rest of my career—is strengthening awareness of JEN COL’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) both internally and externally. Being socially responsibility and operating in an ethical and sustainable way is a big part of our culture as well as my own personal values. Aside from the obvious business benefits, I believe CSR drives greater employee engagement when we encourage personal and professional growth… much like when I first joined JEN COL.
Having spent my entire career in construction, I can say with conviction there are great opportunities for women in construction. My advice to anyone interested in a career in construction is to find and reach out to someone who inspires you (male or female); learn as much as you can about the different areas of construction to put yourself in a better position to succeed; get off the sidelines and make things happen for yourself; and most importantly, have fun and enjoy what you do. No matter what your passion is—accounting, project management, business development or carpentry—there’s a rewarding career waiting for you in construction.
Health and Wellness a Priority at JEN COL
A key focus of JEN COL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandate is to help improve the health and wellness of our employees. With the global pandemic reaching the one year milestone, mental and physical health have never been so important as more and more people become increasingly isolated from family, friends and colleagues.
One of our initiatives this quarter is a Health & Wellness Bingo Challenge aimed at raising awareness for both physical and mental health while encouraging participation by all JEN COL employees to activate a healthy lifestyle. As part of this challenge, our employees are proud to support Bell Let’s Talk Day which generates conversations around mental illness and focuses on reducing the stigma attached to it.
It’s often the everyday things that make a difference. Here’s what some of our JEN COL partners have to say.
The annual Bell Let’s Talk Day focuses on mental illness and the stigma attached to it. The campaign’s goal is to drive conversations to help reduce the stigma and promote awareness and understanding. For more information, visit https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/.
JEN COL raises $10,000 to fight domestic violence
YWCA Edmonton made the difficult decision this year to cancel its Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraising event due to the global pandemic. The annual event put a spotlight on domestic violence and has helped generate over $1 million to support local services for women, children and families experiencing domestic violence and trauma.
As part of JEN COL’s commitment to the community, we decided to continue our support of this important social issue by hosting our own Walk a DAY in Her Shoes event on October 27, 2020. Eighteen JEN COL Generals donned high heels for a day and thanks to generous donations from our supporters, we were able to raise just over $10,000 to help women and families take steps away from domestic violence.