We’re living longer, but many of our ideas about careers are still built around retiring at 65. What does that mean for employers overlooking experienced workers, and for people who still have plenty they want to contribute?

Lisa Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Challenge Factory, joins Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels to explore how longer working lives are changing the workplace. She challenges the idea that older workers need to step aside for younger people and explains how employers can create new career paths that put experience to work. From the ageism hiding in birthday cards to the importance of a present-tense introduction, Lisa makes the case for rethinking what comes next. There’s also a little Justin Bieber.

Chapters

00:00 Meet Lisa Taylor
01:07 Justin Bieber and the writing process
02:10 Why Lisa founded Challenge Factory
05:28 Five drivers of workforce change
08:23 Retirement needs an update
11:51 Finding purpose beyond retirement
14:15 Why older workers aren’t taking younger workers’ jobs
17:04 The ageism we reinforce ourselves
22:07 From anti-aging to pro-aging
24:20 Rethinking career paths and the value of experience
28:14 Keeping healthcare experience in the workforce
30:03 Everyone deserves a present-tense introduction
30:53 What Canada can learn from other countries
34:19 Rapid fire
35:34 A Bieber Easter egg
36:14 Where to find Lisa

Relevant Links and Resources

Challenge Factory: https://challengefactory.ca/

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand

Episode Overview

Economic reconciliation is about more than consultation. It means Indigenous communities having a meaningful role in the businesses and opportunities shaping their lands and their futures.

JP Gladu, Founder and Principal of Mokwateh and an Anishinaabe leader from Sand Point First Nation, joins Stacey and Jacquie to talk about what that looks like in practice. He shares his own community’s history of displacement and return, and explains why economic participation, ownership, and employment are essential parts of reconciliation.

The conversation also turns to the enormous opportunity represented by Indigenous youth. JP challenges employers to move beyond good intentions, spend time in communities, rethink traditional approaches to recruitment, and create workplaces where Indigenous employees can genuinely see themselves belonging.

And, naturally, it ends with a competitive moose call.

Chapters

00:01 Meet JP Gladu

01:20 Sand Point First Nation’s displacement and return

08:10 What economic reconciliation means

11:10 What economic reconciliation looks like when it works

17:10 How employers can start building Indigenous relationships

20:30 Creating better opportunities for Indigenous youth

22:00 The impact of the Outland Youth Employment Program

29:30 Why employers need to spend time in communities

34:00 Building an Indigenous engagement strategy that lasts

40:50 Indigenous youth and Canada’s workforce opportunity

45:55 Why representation and belonging matter

51:55 What gives JP hope

54:25 Rapid fire and the great moose-call competition

Relevant Links & Resources

Mokwateh
JP is Founder and Principal of Mokwateh, an Indigenous-owned consulting firm focused on building relationships and economic partnerships between Indigenous communities and organizations.
Indigenous-owned Consulting & Advisory Services | Mokwateh

Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB)
JP previously served as President and CEO of the organization, which supports Indigenous businesses and economic development across Canada.
Canadian Council for Indigenous Business | CCIB

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand

Episode Overview

Alberta is training more apprentices, but demand for skilled workers is still climbing. Minister of Advanced Education Myles McDougall joins Stacey and Jacquie for Alberta Apprenticeship Day to talk about what comes next. He explains why employers have a major role in apprenticeship completion, how the province is expanding training capacity, and why access to skilled workers matters to Alberta’s ability to attract new investment. The conversation also looks at getting young people into the trades earlier, and ends with the Minister being challenged to say “Happy Apprenticeship Day” in another language.

Chapters

02:43 Meet Minister Myles McDougall

04:44 How Serious Is Alberta’s Skilled Trades Shortage?

06:24 Expanding Apprenticeship Training Capacity

09:38 Getting More Apprentices Onto Job Sites

11:55 Why Apprentices Don’t Always Finish

14:01 Starting the Trades Conversation Earlier

16:03 Why Workforce Capacity Matters to Investment

18:05 A Very Specific Language Challenge

Relevant Links

• Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training

• Become an Apprentice in Alberta

• NAIT Advanced Skills Centre

• CAREERS: The Next Generation

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand

Young people are often asked to choose a career before they have had much chance to discover what fits. Dr. Candy Ho, Chancellor’s Chair at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and an internationally recognized career development scholar, argues that uncertainty can be useful when it keeps us curious and moving forward.

Chapters
00:09 Meet Dr. Candy Ho

01:09 What Origami Taught Candy About Her Career

03:07 Take the Pressure Off Career Planning

04:20 Why a “Wrong” Internship Can Still Be Valuable

06:34 Stop Asking Kids What They Want to Be

08:37 Meaningful Work and Making a Living

10:05 The Wisdom of Indecision

12:15 What Young Workers Bring to the Job

13:19 What Employers Should Teach

15:56 What Work-Integrated Learning Adds

18:25 Who Are Career Influencers?

22:40 Skills for a Green Workforce

24:33 The Skills Awareness Gap

26:38 Careers Were Never a Straight Line

28:58 Would You Rather?

Links

Discovering Careers

An Organisational Guide to Skills for Green Workforce Transformation

Curricula for Change

Dr. Candy Ho at Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Challenge Factory

Canadian Career Development Foundation

Candy Ho on LinkedIn

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand

For too long, the skilled trades have been treated as a fallback. Mike Holmes Jr. and Ian MacFayden want to change that.

The co-founders of Point Load Media and hosts of The Trade Life join Stacey and Jacquie to talk about why young people are still pushed toward university, what it will take to put the trades on equal footing, and just how many career paths can open up once someone learns a trade.

Ian shares his own unlikely path from university and accounting to carpentry and entrepreneurship, while Mike reflects on growing up with one of the most recognizable names in construction and building a professional identity of his own.

They also dig into what employers should expect from young people entering the trades, whether Canada has a shortage of workers or a shortage of skills, and why mentorship and craftsmanship matter as much as recruitment. Plus, Ian introduces Project Network, a professional networking platform built specifically for the skilled trades.

Along the way, they tackle construction’s resistance to new technology, building better homes, a 135-kilometre ultramarathon and, naturally, whether Mike would rather build a house with Ian or spend a month filming television with his dad.

Chapters

00:44 Meet Mike Holmes Jr. and Ian MacFayden

01:40 The Kelly Ripa Construction Question

03:42 Growing Up with the Holmes Name

05:53 What a 135-Kilometre Race Teaches You About Business

08:56 How Mike and Ian Met

10:26 The Birth of Point Load Media

11:33 Life in the Skilled Trades

12:34 Why the Trades Are Still Treated as a Backup Plan

18:03 What Should Come After High School?

19:20 Changing Perceptions of the Skilled Trades

21:11 Where a Career in the Trades Can Lead

24:24 Learning the Business Side of the Trades

25:59 Introducing Project Network

31:15 Building a Network for the Trades

37:26 Making Tradespeople Easier to Find

40:19 What Young People Should Expect on the Job Site

44:26 Worker Shortage or Skills Shortage?

46:47 Building Better, Not Just Building More

49:24 What Would You Ask the Construction Industry?

51:27 Technology and Women in Construction

51:55 Why Construction Resists New Technology

54:46 Would You Rather?

Learn More:

Point Load Media

Project Network

The Trade Life Podcast

Alberta’s collegiate model is giving students an earlier, more hands-on look at career pathways, and helping employers build the skilled workforce they need.

David Pye, Dean of the School of Trades and Technology at Red Deer Polytechnic, joins Stacey and Jacquie to explain how collegiates bring K–12 schools, post-secondary institutions and industry together. They explore how the Central Alberta Collegiate Institute is helping students test-drive the skilled trades, build confidence and move into apprenticeship with a clearer sense of where they want to go.

David also challenges old assumptions about trades careers, explains how apprenticeship credentials can open doors well beyond the jobsite, and shares why giving young people permission to explore, and even fail, can help them find the right path.

Chapters

00:00 What Is a Collegiate?

02:05 Building the Central Alberta Collegiate

03:06 Beyond the High School Shop Class

05:10 Building the Skilled Trades Pipeline

06:49 Bringing Industry into the Classroom

09:47 Changing Parents’ Perceptions of the Trades

12:58 Where a Trades Career Can Lead

14:42 Why David Is Passionate About Trades Education

16:44 From High School to WorldSkills

20:02 What Collegiate Could Mean for Alberta

22:00 Advice to David’s Younger Self

23:14 Would You Rather?

Red Deer Polytechnic

Red Deer Polytechnic Dual Credit programs

Central Alberta Collegiate Institute – RDP overview

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand

What are Alberta's business leaders talking about when they're out on the golf course?

In this special bonus episode of Take on the Future, Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels head to the 15th annual Eric Newell Kidz in Careers Golf Classic at Heritage Pointe Golf Club to find out. They jump in a golf cart to chat with employers, industry leaders, and long-time supporters of CAREERS about leadership, workforce development, and the future of talent in Alberta.

The Eric Newell Kidz in Careers Golf Classic is CAREERS' annual fundraising tournament. Proceeds help connect Alberta students with meaningful career exploration opportunities and paid internships, giving young people valuable workplace experience while helping employers build their future workforce.

Along the way, you'll hear practical advice on taking risks, investing in people, creating strong workplace cultures, and why developing young talent isn't just the right thing to do—it's good business.

00:00 Welcome from the golf course
00:35 Why diversification helped Rising Edge Group grow
02:00 From RAP student to Fountain Tire partner
03:10 Advice for your younger self
04:25 Eric Newell on investing in Alberta's future workforce
05:45 Why RAP students are a smart business investment
06:50 Preparing Alberta's workforce for future opportunities
08:00 Key takeaways from a day of workforce conversations

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand

Labour shortages dominate conversations about construction, but Bill Black argues they're only part of the story.

Bill is President and CEO of the Calgary Construction Association. He joins Stacey Allan and guest host Ann Normand to discuss why better project delivery, stronger leadership, and more thoughtful career pathways matter just as much as recruiting more workers. They also explore how construction careers can provide tremendous opportunity, why employers need to rethink how they develop talent, and what parents, educators, and industry can do to help more young people find work that's the right fit.

00:00 Introduction
01:18 From Scotland to construction leadership
04:53 Why construction is harder than it needs to be
08:27 Collaboration over lowest-price procurement
09:48 Why the labour shortage isn't the whole story
13:34 Can leadership be taught?
17:00 A real-world example of collaboration working
19:20 Building the next generation of skilled workers
21:03 What Bill would tell young people considering construction
25:06 Why finding the right career fit matters
28:32 Why networking opens doors
33:16 Hiring people, not job descriptions
36:35 What motivates people
38:40 Why construction deserves more respect
40:42 What's next for Bill Black
42:42 Rapid Fire

Calgary Construction Association Website