Qualico's 75th Anniversary
Celebrating 75 years, Winnipeg-based Qualico continues to make a difference by giving back to the communities it serves.
In addition, Qualico believes strongly in sup- porting access to skilled trades education, espe- cially as Canada faces a critical labour shortage. Last May, Qualico gave RRC Polytech a $1.25-million gift to support education and career development in the skilled trades, with a focus on attracting Indigenous learners and under-repre- sented groups to the industry. The gift will enhance programs, increase access and opportunities, and promote diversity and inclusion in skilled trades. “Supporting individuals to get into the trades for employment — whether that’s women in trades or other groups that maybe traditionally haven’t had as much obvious access or training to trades — has become a really important endeavour for us,” Ward says. “Some of that relates back to our business, but it’s also about community health — the trades pro- vide great jobs for people and good incomes. We need them in our business and we need people with skills to come and help build homes. That’s become very important.” As Qualico looks to the future, Ward says their focus is simple — build better cities. “That’s now our current tagline, but it’s true in what we are trying to do and contribute to all of the communities that we’re in,” Ward says. “We’re focused on continuing to build on the foun- dation and the history of how the company started and the values that were — and still are — important.”
As part of Qualico’s anniversary celebrations, the company has set some significant goals for two employee-driven programs in an effort to give back. Through the Qualico Volunteer Day program, every employee is allotted a workday where they can dedicate their time and focus on volunteer- ing towards a cause that is meaningful to them. Qualico has set a goal to hit 7,500 volunteer hours across the company. They’ve also set a goal to give back $75,000 in employee-driven donations through their Acts of Kindness campaign, which focuses on employee- directed corporate giving. Employees are encouraged to nominate a registered not-for-profit or charity that is important to them to receive a donation from Qualico. Since 2016, more than $500,000 has been donated to causes that its employees are passionate about. “I think it really goes back to the founders of the company and the family ownership and the values that they instil in the company. It’s an important part of our culture,” Ward says. “Being involved in the community and supporting worthy causes and sup- porting folks with time off to volunteer is fundamen- tal to the company.” As the current board chair of Habitat for Humanity Manitoba, Ward says he’s had an incred- ible amount of support from the company to be able to fulfil that role. Qualico and Habitat for Humanity have a long-standing relationship, with the Qualico Manitoba and Saskatchewan region hosting two Habitat team build days a year. The collaboration is a no-brainer, with the two organizations sharing similar values of building sus- tainably and contributing to end the cycle of poverty. “Addressing housing and housing affordabil- ity is such a good fit with our business and with some of the expertise we have on our team, so it’s important for us to continue to participate in such a worthwhile cause, “ Ward says. “Habitat is a really important partner of ours in Manitoba and in other regions as well.” Qualico also supports Habitat for Humanity’s Ride Around the Lake each year, sending a team to participate. This year, Team Qualico will be taking part in the 20th Annual Fundraising Ride, with a goal of raising $600,000 to support the construc- tion of Habitat homes in Winnipeg.
Photos courtesy of Qualico
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