Building Culture, Building People

Why Workforce Development is Central to Everything We Do at Green Island Builders

Written by: Martin Scaia (BSc, MA) – Managing Director, Green Island Builders – 2025 Builders Code Champion Award Winner

Green Island Builders has been shaping spaces across Southern Vancouver Island for over 20 years—but the real foundation of our company isn’t wood or concrete. It’s our people. As a residential remodeling company, our success depends not only on the quality of our craftsmanship but also on the strength, collaboration, and well-being of our crew. That’s why workforce development isn’t a side initiative—it’s at the heart of our business model. We have made the conscious decision to shift from being the best in the industry to being the best for the industry. This subtle shift drives our leadership decisions to set new standards of excellence.

We were proud to be nominated for a Builders Code Champion Award this year and even prouder to be part of a broader industry movement toward safer, more inclusive, and more respectful workplaces. As a company that’s grown steadily and intentionally, we’ve learned a lot about what works, where the gaps are, and how we can lead by example—not just within our crew but in our industry.

Making Workforce Development a Priority

Let’s start with the basics: our team can’t do excellent work for our clients if we aren’t first investing in them. For us, that means a few key things:

• Living Wage Certified: We’ve maintained our certification as a Living Wage Employer in BC, ensuring that our crew can afford to live with dignity in the community they help build.
• Fair and Transparent Compensation: We completed an external compensation audit in 2024 to ensure our pay structure is consistent, equitable, and competitive. From that, we developed a compensation philosophy that we share openly with our team, because fairness shouldn’t be a secret.
• Tailored Training & Mentorship: Our in-house carpentry apprenticeship program offers a 2:1 mentor-to-apprentice ratio, which gives our crew members hands-on learning from seasoned professionals. We also subsidize education for those pursuing their Red Seal, PMP certifications, and other industry credentials.
• Support at Every Stage: From paid co-op placements to leadership development opportunities, we meet our team members where they are and support them as they grow.

Creating a Culture Where People Want to Stay

One of the biggest things we’ve learned? Culture isn’t something you set once and forget—it’s something you build every day. Our mantra is “be yourself”; we create space where people can be their authentic selves.

We’ve put a lot of care into creating a respectful, equitable, and inclusive workplace. That includes flexible work arrangements (hybrid, compressed weeks, and shortened summer hours), strong parental leave supports, and policies like our Menstruation & Menopause Policy, which offers paid leave and flexibility without requiring medical documentation.

We also worked with ReImagine Work to conduct an external DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) audit in 2024. That experience helped us better understand how our internal policies and practices are landing—and where we still have room to grow. We’re proud of what we’ve implemented, but even prouder that we’re not done.

Practical Tips for Other Builders

If I were chatting with a fellow contractor over coffee, I’d say that you don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. Start where you are. Here are a few things we’ve done that made a big difference:

1. Write it down. Whether it’s your compensation structure, your expectations, or your workplace values—get it out of your head and onto paper. It creates clarity and accountability.
2. Ask for feedback—and be ready to hear it. We’ve learned the most from our crew. Anonymous surveys, open-door conversations, and third-party audits have all given us crucial insights.
3. Celebrate people. We host regular social events (like pub nights and summer BBQs), offer service milestones, and recognize team members during our weekly huddles. It builds community and boosts morale.
4. Partner with others. Our relationships with groups like Women in Construction (WiC), Camosun Women in Trades, and BC Women in Construction have helped us access a broader talent pool and support a more diverse workforce.

How the Builders Code Has Helped

The Builders Code provided a framework we could align with, especially in terms of setting clear expectations for respectful, harassment-free worksites. Even just having a shared language to talk about culture, safety, and professionalism has been useful.

More than that, being part of the Builders Code network signals to prospective hires, clients, and partners that we’re serious about building a better industry. That matters.

Why This Work Matters

We all know the construction industry has room to grow in terms of representation, equity, and culture. But here’s the good news: change is happening, and it’s happening at the job site level.

We’ve seen firsthand how a crew that feels safe, respected, and supported will go above and beyond—not just for clients but also for each other. This improves retention, reduces burnout, and creates better work overall. And when you take care of your people, your people take care of the business.

At the end of the day, the homes we build will last decades, but the culture we create will last even longer. That’s the legacy we want to leave behind.