Kiewit, a leading North American construction, mining and engineering services firm, recently launched a new training program in St. John’s, Newfoundland: Leadership Intensive Field Training (LIFT). LIFT provides leadership trainees with online training, a team assignment, a one-day field certification and a multi-rater assessment conducted before and after training in order to measure progress. During the hands-on portion of the program, fledgling supervisors were tasked with completing projects for four local charities. The company donated over $30,000 worth of materials and labour for the projects.

According to Kiewit’s district human resources manager, Brady Bagwan, LIFT is a natural evolution for the company’s promot e-from-within philosophy. “When we hire, we’re hiring not only for whatever position is currently open, but for the ones that will open in the future, farther up the ladder. As far as we’re concerned, every job applicant is a future company leader, so we offer six times more training than the industry average and we offer it at every step of our employees’ careers.”

Based on the company’s internal promotion rate, Bagwan estimates that LIFT will be an ongoing project running at least twice a year throughout the organization. “We know the success of our projects is determined by the success of our people, so this training is an important aspect of a new supervisor’s growth.”

Asked why they decided to include a charitable component, Bagwan asserts that social responsibility is built into the Kiewit DNA. “(Company founder) Peter Kiewit not only gave generously to a multitude of causes throughout his lifetime, he left more than 90 per cent of his estate to charity upon his death in 1979. We believe strongly in giving back to the people and communities that make our work possible.”

The four charities and their projects included:

• Easter Seals Newfoundland and Labrador: designing and constructing an archway and shed for children and their families.

• Teen Challenge: providing ‘finish work’ (painting, drywall, trim, etc.) for a home that will serve as a 12-month substance abuse program.

• Children’s Wish Foundation: building a children’s playhouse to be auctioned off to raise funds to grant a child’s wish.

• Make a Wish Foundation: building a children’s playhouse to be auctioned off to raise funds to grant a child’s wish.