AMCC Board Chair Outlines Next Steps for Implementing Discussion Paper Recommendations

The Advisory Panel’s discussion paper makes one thing clear: Canada’s maintenance industry is at a turning point. Our sector is the backbone of critical infrastructure, but today we face real pressures — an aging workforce, uneven adoption of technology, fragmented contracting, and labour market disconnects. Left unaddressed, these challenges will drive up costs, erode trust, and put the safe and reliable operation of Canada’s facilities at risk.

The Panel’s conclusion is clear: incremental change is not enough. What’s required is bold action — collective, coordinated, and urgent. Collaboration must replace fragmentation. Safety must remain our non-negotiable foundation. And modernization — digital tools, predictive maintenance, AI-enabled platforms — must be embedded into every project, contract, and training program.

Each of us has a role to play:

• Owners must commit to collaborative contracting and shared risk.
• Contractors must invest in workforce innovation and digital integration.
• Unions must lead on mentorship and mobility.
• Training providers must prepare a new generation for a new reality.
• Regulators must align policy with best practice.

No one group can transform the system alone — but together, we can build safer workplaces, stronger workforce pipelines, predictable delivery, and global competitiveness.

That’s why AMCC has already acted. A new Board subcommittee, chaired by Mandy Kaiser, will chart AMCC’s 2026 priorities and beyond, grounded firmly in the findings of this paper.

The work begins now:

• October — AMCC members will be invited to a workshop to directly contribute their insights.
• November 24 — Findings will be shared at the second annual AMCC Shaping the Future Symposium in Calgary, kicking off the Shutdowns Turnarounds Superconference.

This symposium is also where we will advance our advocacy agenda — ensuring governments, owners, and the public understand what is at stake, and what must be done.

The tools are ready. The partnerships are forming. The window for action is open — but it won’t stay open forever. This is the moment to lead.

Ken Sandmoen
AMCC Board Chair