Procore today announced a donation to the Calgary Construction Association Education Fund to inspire youth to learn about the skilled trades. The donated funds will be used to support two initiatives, including elementary school programming that will bring skilled-trades curriculum to over 30,000 students in Calgary this fall, and the TELUS Spark Science Centre BLUPrint program.
Calgary Construction Association, in partnership with Honour the Work, a not-for-profit organization, will deliver an innovative curriculum that will reach 850 classrooms across the Calgary Catholic School District and the Calgary Board of Education. Honour The Work was created by educators and supported by industry leaders to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world skilled trades careers. The program features STEAMS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics and Skills) Kits, designed for students in grades 1-6. These kits offer hands-on activities that align with the curriculum and include lesson plans, digital resources, building materials, and diverse children’s books that highlight the value of skilled trades. First launched in Ontario with great success, the program is now set to pilot in Calgary schools.
The association’s partnership with TELUS Spark Science Centre will create a series of exploration spaces called BLUprint (Build + Learn + YOU), one of the first youth programs to showcase the application of STEAM in real-world trades careers in a Canadian science centre. This new program consists of a space where youth can experience real tools, get hands-on learning related to carpentry, plumbing, and electrical trades, and understand the science connections. Youth can also learn about the trades through virtual reality.
In Procore’s most recent construction industry benchmark report How We Build Now: Technology and industry trends shaping Canadian construction, respondents consider hiring and retaining skilled labour as one of the top challenges they face over the next 12 months. Almost 30 per cent report they have been unable to take on more projects in the past three to six months due to labour shortage. Thirty-two (32) per cent fear that some of their most experienced people will retire within the next few years and take valuable knowledge with them. Twenty-seven (27) per cent agree there is too much competition in construction for talent.
Advancing the industry through education
Procore is committed to advancing the construction industry through advocacy, education and technology. Procore.org, the company’s social impact arm, works with 15 Canadian universities and colleges to provide complimentary training, tools and certifications designed to get students up to speed quickly with the latest technology. In Alberta, Procore.org partners with Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), University of Alberta and Red Deer Polytechnic.
This year, Procore.org launched an Educators’ Training Centre for instructors with educational resources such as presentations, student exercises, sample project data, and a special video certification course for Canadian students.
Park N’ Fly Pwned And Customer Data Leaked
Posted in Commentary with tags Hacked on August 26, 2024 by itnerdBad news for those who use Park N’ Fly. CTV News is reporting that there’s been a data breach as a result of “unauthorized access”:
The company confirms a third party accessed its network through unauthorized remote VPN access between July 11 and July 13.
When the hack was detected the company said its information technology team and a cyber security partner launched an investigation to find out what information was accessed.
According to the company, the information compromised could include basic customer information such as names, email and mailing addresses as well as Aeroplan and CAA numbers.
Park’N Fly said it “can confirm with certainty” that payment information was not compromised as it does not store customer credit cards or passwords on its servers.
I can’t count the number of times that a company that has been pwned says that a limited amount of customer information has been accessed, only to find out later that way more customer information has been accessed. Thus I take anything that the company says with a grain of salt until they provide definitive proof that what they are saying is true. If you’re affected by this, you should have already received an email about this. And I would do the usual things like monitor your credit cards, maybe get credit monitoring, etc while you wait on the company to provide more and hopefully robust details about what happened.
UPDATE: Rogier Fischer, CEO, Hadrian had this comment:
“While Park’N Fly has taken steps to improve security post-incident, proactive measures such as regular security audits, stronger authentication for VPN access, and customer education on cybersecurity could help mitigate similar risks in the future,” said Rogier Fischer, CEO of Netherlands-based cybersecurity service Hadrian.
“The company may face legal obligations to report the breach under data protection laws, such as Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Additionally, the incident could harm their reputation, affecting customer trust and future business if not handled transparently and effectively.”
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