Gone are the days when working as a tradesperson meant you had to spend your career in the field. A perfect example of the changing times is Christian Berard, Workforce Manager with Coram Construction.
Joining the construction industry in 1999, Christian worked as a Labourer with Quorex, Graham, and Coram in the summers while attending university. In 2004, Christian completed his degree and was approached by Coram to work on a campus renovation project. When the renovations were finished, he continued with Coram in the PCL Special Project Division as an apprentice. In 2008, he received his Red Seal in carpentry and became a Superintendent with Coram in 2010. In the following years, he gained great experience in the field and found success in managing people. This prepared him for his biggest career change – in 2018, Christian became Coram’s Workforce Manager for the Saskatoon operations. 
Christian’s days shifted from building structures to building people as he is now responsible for recruitment, manpower forecasting, training, and mentoring others. Although he misses working with his hands, he enjoys being inside on the cold winter days! 
So, how did Christian move from the field to office? Christian was eager to accept more responsibility in his roles to expand his skills. With great mentors along the way, he was encouraged to continue developing his knowledge beyond typical field work. Christian discovered his passion for building a team and being a positive influence on the people he supervised. This passion earned him the Team Builder Award at the 2018 MERIT Awards of Excellence. 

Christian is an excellent example of how career paths for tradespeople have changed over the years.
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