Mark Gettle, 51
For Project Manager and former tradesperson Mark Gettle, going back to school was the key to professional success. Prior to enrolling in an economics program at the University of Regina, all of Mark’s training had been informal and on the job. As a teenager, he’d spent his summers working for his father’s construction business. He stayed in the industry for nearly two decades and went on to start a construction company of his own. But by the mid-1980s, Mark was starting to crave something more.
Project Manager, Construction Careers Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Education
- Bachelor of Economics
University of Regina, 1994
Career Path
For Project Manager and former tradesperson Mark Gettle, going back to school was the key to professional success. Prior to enrolling in an economics program at the University of Regina, all of Mark’s training had been informal and on the job. As a teenager, he’d spent his summers working for his father’s construction business. He stayed in the industry for nearly two decades and went on to start a construction company of his own. But by the mid-1980s, Mark was starting to crave something more. “I was in business for myself… and I thought maybe I’d go into the theory and nuts and bolts behind business operation,” he says. “I had a brother who had already taken an economics degree… and I just found it interesting so I went that way.”
It wasn’t that Mark had trouble finding work in construction without a formal education. After graduating high school in 1976, he landed jobs in carpentry, concrete forming and industrial insulation. But he felt he could be getting more out of his career. During the winter months, when construction work typically slows down, Mark started taking courses toward an economics degree. Because he was only able to study part time, it took eight years to complete the program. But by the time he graduated, Mark realized what he’d been missing.
“The overall education allowed me to be more open… and understand more about what I was doing,” he says. “It got me thinking outside the box. You see different opportunities and different ways of doing things, (like) incorporating new technologies into your job. I saw that there were ways to be more efficient and cost-effective and I embraced those things.”
With the confidence of a degree behind him, Mark ventured off on his own in 2000 and launched Mar-New Construction. A year later, he brought his eldest son on board and indentured him as a carpenter apprentice. He spent a few years working alongside his son as a tradesperson. But by the time Mark hit his mid-forties, he realized he needed a change of pace. “I was starting to feel like I had to do something a little bit different because my body was wearing out,” he says. When an opportunity came up to become a job coach with the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) in 2003, Mark happily accepted the position. A year and a half later, Mark was offered a job as project manager with Construction Careers Regina, a SIIT initiative that offers job coaching and training to help people transition into the construction industry workforce.
There are days when Mark misses the hands-on aspect of his earlier work. But he takes great satisfaction in knowing that his current position enables him to help young people get their start in the trades and make sure they get the necessary education to succeed. He’s happy with where his career has taken him and says he has only one regret: not having gone to university earlier. “I think I still would have ended up where I am today,” he says. “But I might have been able to take my business to bigger and better places if I’d been better educated.”
Today, both his sons are running the show at Mar-New Construction. His eldest son is now a certified journeyperson carpenter, and his youngest son is putting his business administration degree to good use by running the business side of the company. Mark is proud that both his sons completed formal education to get to where they are today. “I see what my (youngest) son brings to the business—the knowledge and marketing background,” says Mark.
As for his eldest son, Mark is very happy to see that he took the formal apprenticeship route. He encourages anyone considering working in the trades to get indentured and go through with their journeyperson certification. “The mistake I see a lot of (trades) people make is… they don’t get the education and the apprenticeship under their belt,” he says. “Ten years go by and they’re still at the same level they were at before. That’s the biggest mistake. Make sure you get in the apprenticeship system, get indentured and get through it all. There’s such a need for skilled trades people right now. I don’t think you can go wrong.”
Best Advice
“I think the idea is to go around and try a bunch of different jobs. Whether it’s in the restaurant industry or the construction industry, try a little bit of whatever you can get exposed to… Give yourself two or three years to figure out what you want to do. Once you’ve tried enough things and you know what you want to do, go for it. And get somebody to point you in the right direction. Whatever you choose—whether it’s construction or something outside the industry—just make sure it’s what you want to do and do it well. (And remember that) education is the biggest key. If you enjoy education, go as far as you can with it because it never hurts; it always expands your horizons.”