Declan McGilton, member development co-ordinator at Local 118 in Vancouver, is crossing off items on his professional goal list while improving recruitment and retention in the mechanical insulation trade.
By / Jessica Kirby
Declan McGilton, member development co-ordinator for BC Insulators Local 118 in Vancouver, starts every day in the gym next to the Local office. Then, he gets to his desk early and spends the day connecting with members, the Local’s team, and industry. He might spend time in a day answering email, listening to apprentice concerns in his office, or taking a group of members to watch the Whitecaps kick-off. Most importantly, he is helping make the insulation industry a more attractive and viable career option for new apprentices.
Born in Oakville, Ontario, McGilton worked for an open shop right after high school and gained enough experience to land a position with Aarc West when he moved to BC in his 20s. He didn’t know anything about union shops until he started at the Vancouver-based company, but it was a gamechanger for his perspective on the trade.
“Once I saw the opportunities that came with union work—there was a Red Seal in it for me, benefits, a pension, and room to move up—that is when I started taking it seriously,” McGilton says.
His passion for the trade grew with the variety of work and constant opportunities to learn. “I could be doing duct insulation one day, pipe insulation the next, and installing firestopping the next,” he says. “All of a sudden, we’re doing jacketing. There was so much to keep my attention focused, and I was learning in so many areas.”
Over time, McGilton’s perspective broadened, and he took on a leadership role. He’d set goals early in his apprenticeship that were focused on eventually moving up the ladder to a specialty or leadership position, so he was right on track. “Next, I got my Red Seal,” he says. “Setting and achieving my goals while continuing to learn every day is what kept me motivated.”
He applied for and earned the position at Local 118 in January 2023. Different from an organizer, he oversees membership development within the union, organizing group events, consulting with the team on training and workforce development, and checking in with apprentices and members to make sure they are happy, progressing, treated well, and meeting their goals.
Early on, he realized retention was an issue. Some apprentices would last six months before feeling stagnant and moving on—a situation that worsened for apprentices who were not properly mentored.
“I started to identify that if someone wasn’t feeling challenged and sort of running in place, they would lose interest,” he says. “Since we’ve upped our game in the mentorship area, the turnover has dropped.”
Local 118’s training centre sees classes of 16 at a time, and McGilton and the instructor deliver a presentation to each class on the benefit of mentorship as well as how to be a good mentee.
“When people came to me for help, I take the time to show them the tips and tricks I learned, and I keep the experience positive and encouraging,” he says. “I try to uplift them because it validates them not knowing what to do but still being a good apprentice. If they ask for help and someone tells them ‘Go figure it out,’ it makes them feel inadequate or as though they are asking about something they should already know. But there is a lot you don’t know as an apprentice, and it is hard to be fast when you are just learning.”
Mentoring apprentices to be good mentees is just as important, McGilton says. He asks apprentices to set goals, show up every day ready to work, and try to find passion for their job. Perhaps most importantly, he encourages initiative and active listening.
“They can’t go in every day constantly asking what they need to do,” he says. “Instead of asking, ‘What should I do?’ they should look around and see what needs to be done and then come to the supervisor with, ‘I noticed this, should I do that?’ That would show me this mentee is willing to learn and taking the trade seriously.”
If McGilton is giving instructions, he expects eye contact, a nod of comprehension, and that the apprentice can repeat back what he’s asked. “They just need to make a point of getting better at these things every day,” he says.
Setting goals is one of the most important things that make apprentices successful, and it is something McGilton recommends for anyone new to or considering the trade.
“The insulation trade has so many things to offer in terms of a career and ways it can benefit you,” he says. “If you get a Red Seal, that’s when your career starts, and the possibilities are endless. You can start your own company, get into a management role, take on a specialty like estimating, or get into union work, like I did. You can use this trade to create an amazing career for yourself. That’s what it did for me.” ■
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