Jason McNamara, Vice President of Operations for Stuart Olson’s Industrial Maintenance, Turnarounds & Sustaining Capital Projects, consistently prioritizes team building in both the corporate setting of a Calgary boardroom and the atmosphere of a toolbox talk before a shift in Fort McMurray. 

“Whether I was on the tools, in a supervisory position, in management or a corporate position as I am in now, I’ve always seen how a cohesive one-team approach removes barriers and ultimately get results for the client,” he says.

Jason wants to bring that collaborative approach to an industry with many shared challenges. That is why he sees the benefit of the Association of Maintenance Contractors of Canada (AMCC). The Nova Scotian, who earned degrees in Instrumentation Technology and Electronic Engineering Technology from Nova Scotia Community College, sits on the AMCC Board of Directors as Vice Chair.

For over a decade, Jason dedicated himself to the Wood Buffalo region, starting with the tools and progressing to the position of Stuart Olson’s Regional Director. Transitioning to Calgary, he embraced his current role, overseeing the entirety of the organization’s operations. His days are now spent working with clients nationwide to solve problems through creative solutions.

These experiences have helped him see the value of having contractors join together because they have similar goals, deliverables for their clients, and challenges, particularly with a looming shortage of skilled labour. Jason wants to address that by attracting the next generation of skilled trades into the industry. “I'm very proud that the maintenance industry has been able to bring new people to the trades and give them a career. We can provide them with career advancement and with a path to success. This is a focus of mine at Stuart Olson, where we have worked to build talent-dense teams,” says Jason, who is married with three children. “I’ve gone through that journey myself and see it as an opportunity for people like me. Maybe university isn’t for them, like it wasn’t for me, but there’s an ability to make a good living with opportunities to work right across Canada. That’s something the AMCC is working to address, and I’m delighted to help be a part of that.”