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Are you a construction industry professional looking for new opportunities? While there are plenty of jobs to go around on the construction phase of the many housing projects sprouting all over Canada, you have probably not considered the rich opportunities in the pre-construction stages of these projects.

This article will discuss the exciting work opportunities in the pre-construction phase of housing development projects in case you are looking to expand your horizons.

Canada’s Booming Housing Market A Boon For Construction Trades

Canada is facing a big housing crisis in major cities like Toronto. Burgeoning demand for housing, soaring home prices, and a very low stock of new houses all make for a red hot real estate market.

Lowering interest rates has been suggested among a raft of measures to cool the housing market and save cities like Toronto from the unwanted tag of being one of the most unaffordable cities in the world.

Fixing the supply side is, however, the only sustainable fix for Canada’s housing shortage and unaffordability crisis. This entails constructing new homes. And a critical stage of any construction project that determines whether it succeeds and finishes on budget is what’s known as the pre-construction phase.

What is Pre-construction?

Pre-construction encompasses all the activities that happen on a construction project before the actual construction work starts. This includes the necessary planning work, design, materials estimation and ordering, and the work involved in preparing the construction site, including excavating access roads and erecting a fence that secures the site.

Some of the pre-construction work will continue into the construction phase, principally to coordinate contractors and monitor progress, which ensures that the project proceeds according to design guidelines and overall project timeline.

The pre-construction phase isn’t just important for the success of the building project, but also for the health and safety of the workers on the project and the general public. For this reason, there are important roles that project owners must hire for even before there is an actual construction site to show. These are the opportunities we will discuss below:

Work Opportunities in The Pre-Construction Phase Of Building Projects

1. Structural Engineer For Existing Condition Analysis

Structural engineers analyze building designs against available construction materials and techniques to ensure the structural integrity of the completed structure. For this reason, they are important hires on large building projects.

That said, they also have an important role to play on remodeling projects, even if the building being renovated is a small family-sized home. The engineer must determine the safest ways to proceed with the remodel before any demolition work starts.

By carrying out existing condition analysis, the structural engineer will determine what scope the remodel will take or if it’s even safe to attempt it in the proposed scope. Sometimes a complete replacement of the structure is needed.

Material strength analysis and load calculations will need to be carried out and important considerations made to plumbing, roofing, HVAC, and other building systems to ensure they integrate seamlessly. So where a property investor is renovating or adding onto an existing structure there should be an existing condition analysis engineer among the very first hires.

2. 3D modeling specialist

While architects are responsible for the actual technical design of the building, a 3D model developer converts the drawings into a 3D picture that brings the structure to a form non-architects can visualize. There is now advanced Building Information Modeling software that building designers can use to create vivid 3D pictures of how a building will look like it’s completed.

A 3D model of the building will also help in the planning and building phases as well as in the landscape design. It also informs key decisions on structural design and construction scheduling. This helps to forestall issues that may derail the project.

3. Cost Estimator

This role is at the intersection of the quantity surveyor and cost accountant jobs. So on some projects the roles could be split into their more traditional forms. That said, the goal of the roles are the same – to have a solid idea of what materials are needed for the entire project and how much it will all cost.

In simple terms, an estimator determines the budget for the entire project. When coming up with a reliable cost estimate, they have to itemize such costs as materials, labor, permits, and equipment. As underbudgeting can have severe implications on the success of the project, a cost estimator needs to be a highly knowledgeable construction sector veteran.

4. Procurement Manager

Failure to source materials on time can stall the entire building project. Most construction material manufacturers have lead times that procurement managers have to factor in when placing orders.

For example, your project may require triple glazed windows for which there are only a few manufacturers. Place your order late and you may be forced to put the build on hold while the supplier processes your order.

Materials that you are shipping in from outside the country can often be delayed at ports so it’s critical to allow enough time between placing the order and receiving it. This is work that has to be done before you break ground on a project.

To succeed in this job, you will need to leverage a specialized supply chain. So you may be at an advantage if you already have contacts at major building construction material suppliers. As well as understanding the dynamics of the market you will also have to demonstrate an understanding of current prices to ensure the project achieves its cost budgets.

5. Phasing and Logistics Manager

A procurement officer will have to work hand in hand with another important pre-construction hire – the phasing and logistics manager. It is the job of the phasing and logistics manager to work out timelines for specific phases of the build. In this regard, they must work in consultation with the procurement manager to ensure materials arrive on time.

Importantly, there may not be enough suitable storage for the materials and equipment required for the entire project. So it’s critical that the timetable and logistics of bringing the materials to the site are worked out in advance.

Logistics management is an especially essential part of a construction project. Permit applications, inspections, deliveries, subcontractors, and different site services have to be well-coordinated for an orderly flow of work on the site.

6. Risk Control Officer

Major construction projects are a fertile ground for lawsuits and all manner of risks. From jobsite accidents and associated project delays to fines, poor workmanship disputes, and costly mistakes, construction projects are pre-exposed to many risks that will need to be mitigated against by hiring a properly skilled risk control officer as early as the pre-construction phase.

Contracts are another major sinkhole for construction projects. It is the job of the risk control officer to study all contracts entered into with subcontractors to ensure the language used isn’t vague that it may expose the project owner to lawsuits in the event of conflicts.

Beyond contracts, the risk officer will make sure that all construction site and general building regulations are adhered to and that all materials and construction methods meet expectations. If it is the project owners’ idea to protect their investment by buying insurance cover, it is the job of the risk control officer to shop for and decide on the best insurance policy.

7. Pre-construction Manager

Some project owners may find it best to bundle most of the above roles by hiring a pre-construction manager. You will have a good chance of landing and succeeding in this role if you have experience and skills in the roles we have discussed above. Here’s a similar job advertised on Indeed for a construction project in Mississauga, Ontario.

Where To Look For Pre-Construction Work Opportunities In Canada

Jobseeker sites like Indeed are good places to look for pre-construction work opportunities. But you will need to actively search these job boards for openings. With Souqh, a Canadian real estate and home services marketplace, homebuilders and property investors come looking for you.

How Souqh works is contractors and service providers in the real estate market get a storefront where they will advertise their services. Homebuyers, homeowners, and property investors who are renovating, remodeling, or repairing their properties come to Souqh to look for people with the right skills and local experience. They are drawn by the many tools and features that make it easy to compare and connect with contractors and service providers.

Sign up on Souqh and get your own storefront and online property where prospects can find you by your service area and specialization. We have people searching for local talent right from the pre-construction, through actual construction to post-construction, home including maintenance and repair.

The toughest job for any service provider or contractor is finding clients. What makes it harder is that regular marketing channels are either saturated, too expensive, or take too long to bear fruits. As a result, even industry veterans go through dry periods, where they can hardly find any work.

To improve the odds of getting that first, or next customer, you may need to get more visible to potential clients. Joining online marketplaces is one way of doing this.

Online marketplaces are a tried and true lead generation tool. But seeing there are quite a few of them around, which ones should you join? You will be committing quite a bit of your time there, so it’s a decision you should think through.

To help you with the decision, we have 5 questions that you should ask yourself before joining an online marketplace:

Ask Yourself These 5 Questions Before Joining An Online Marketplace

1. Does my target customer shop there?

There is no point in joining a marketplace that is frequented by millions of users that do not need the services you offer. Identify your target customer and then find out if their profile would fit with the audience of the marketplace you’re considering.

Souqh, for example, is a place where home buyers and homeowners come to find service providers. Homebuyers can search the marketplace for realtors, real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, and movers, among other service providers.

On the other hand, homeowners can rely on Souqh to connect them with contractors. These could be electricians, handymen, or plumbers. Souqh is a perfect fit for any of these contractors and professional services because it’s built for the same people they’re targeting – home buyers and homeowners.

2. How Much Visibility Will I Get?

At the end of the day, you are joining the marketplace to boost your visibility to target prospects. So, first, it should be easy for them to find your listing on the marketplace. Secondly, there should be enough real estate for you to showcase your brand, list all your services, and promote your business to prospects.

Souqh, for example, will give you your own storefront where you can list your services, display your reviews, and start a conversation with interested prospects.

A search feature on the homepage helps prospects find you, first by your service and, secondly, by your city. As long as you have properly optimized your storefront, it should not be difficult for customers to find you. By paying a small fee you can also get your storefront featured on the homepage, which boosts your visibility.

3. What Are The Costs Involved?

Some online marketplaces are free to use while others are paid. Some payments are one-off joining fees while others are monthly subscriptions. If you have researched the marketplace well, it could potentially bring a lot of business your way, so a small fee should be a small price to pay.

That said, you should weigh the cost of listing on the marketplace against the potential benefits. Search and find out how many businesses like yours are listed on the marketplace. If you find that there are quite a few, it is possible they are getting their money’s worth and that you may too.

4. What Tools Does The Marketplace Provide?

If the marketplace is not free, you will want to know what you are paying for exactly. If it’s just to get yourself in front of more people, then there better be warm leads. Otherwise, you should expect the marketplace to at least provide tools that help you automate some of the work.

Some marketplaces integrate with social media platforms so customers that have been satisfied with your work can recommend you to their followers with a simple click of a button. Some allow you to advertise on the platform at a low cost.

For its part, Souqh is built as an end-to-end platform for home buyers and owners. A home buyer, for example, can find mortgage financiers, lawyers, and movers all within the platform. They can even send an invite from within Souqh to their preferred service provider if they find they are currently not on the platform. That benefits everyone, including service providers.

For service providers specifically, Souqh allows you to create, share, and e-sign your documents in one secure portal. Not just that, all your communications with clients can take place right within your Souqh store.

More importantly, clients can pay you right within Souqh using a payment method that works for both of you. This reassures prospects of the security of their data and their privacy, which helps to close deals faster.

5. Are There Any Incentives For Users?

It is great that the marketplace provides tools for service providers to find prospects, negotiate and close deals, and receive payment in one secure portal. But what about the prospects – the reason that brought you to the marketplace? What incentives are there to keep them coming back?

Users typically don’t pay to use marketplaces so they can easily go look for service providers elsewhere. Souqh gets this and has an automated system where users earn credits every time they transact or invite a service provider to the platform.

The credits users earn can be used to pay for future services. So users are motivated to use Souqh more frequently because there is a direct financial benefit.

Find Customers And Grow Your Business On Souqh

Are you a contractor or professional services provider like a lawyer, realtor, or mortgage broker? Souqh can connect you with potential clients and help scale your business at a more manageable expense. Get started with Souqh here.