Build Launches Ottawa Enterprise to Retrofit Homes
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- Build launched in September as a new social enterprise created by the Ottawa non-profit EnviroCentre.
- Build aims to address two intersecting challenges: the urgent need for retrofits in Canadian homes to combat the climate crisis and the shortage of skilled construction workers.
- John Mava, a Nigerian immigrant, was hired as one of Build's first employees after completing the YMCA’s Power of Trades programme.
- John Mava observed that Canadian construction uses timber rather than bricks and emphasizes environmental considerations, which sparked his interest in the sector.
- YMCA’s Power of Trades programme provides training that equips participants like Mava with construction knowledge and skills needed for retrofitting projects.
- EnviroCentre is the Ottawa non‑profit that founded Build, positioning it to combine climate retrofits with job creation for skilled workers.
Why it matters: Homeowners gain energy‑efficient upgrades that cut emissions and lower utility bills, while immigrants and other job‑seekers secure construction work, easing the skilled‑labour gap that hampers Canada’s climate‑retrofit rollout and helping the country meet its climate targets. The initiative also reduces reliance on imported skilled labor, keeping more of the retrofit spending within the local economy.
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