SECON/KDM, Nutrien Working Together to “Change People’s Lives”

Growing up in the small community of Whitewood, SK – about 60 kilometres from Nutrien’s Rocanville potash operation – Cole Raiwet recognized the need for change.

“There are five First Nations around where I grew up,” says Cole Raiwet, a partner and Chief Operating Officer with the SECON Group of Companies, an industrial and maintenance construction company in Esterhazy, SK. “A lot of my friends growing up were from the Nations, so I understood the barriers in the community.

“Governments put money into training, but there is a gap between training and real opportunities. When we were building our company, we talked about being part of the solution to help fill that gap.”

All of SECON’s companies implemented plans and policies to advance inclusion in their work force and supply chain. Over the past six years, that has led to more than $27 million in direct employment and over $11 million in spending with Indigenous vendors.

In 2016, SECON met with Chiefs from three First Nations in the area – Kawacatoose, Day Star, and Muskowekwan – and formed KDM Constructors, with the goal of creating employment opportunities and economic benefits to the partnering Nations.

SECON moved an existing contract to KDM, providing a launch pad for a growing enterprise that now has an eight-year track record of success and strong relationships with large industrial operations across Saskatchewan.

Based on the success of KDM, SECON recently entered a new partnership with Ochapowace Nation to create Atowskewin Industrial – a company similar to KDM that brings another First Nation to the industrial market.

“With the amount of opportunity and the resources Saskatchewan has, we need to be working as a team to capitalize on it,” says Raiwet. “Being one of the larger construction companies in the province, we need to be a leader in removing barriers to get people into the construction space.”

Raiwet turned to Nutrien to partner in that leadership role – not only with contract opportunities but by opening doors. From those conversations, Nutrien began providing underground tours to prospective employees.

“The underground tours were one of the really big things Nutrien helped us with,” says Raiwet. “It let people understand that it’s not so intimidating and that there are really good jobs right in our backyards.”

KDM currently has 132 employees, including a number of people working at Nutrien’s Cory and Allan operations.

Raiwet takes a special pride in having Indigenous workers gain experience with SECON or KDM and move on to bigger roles with larger entities like Nutrien.

“We’re like a farm team for some of the bigger mining companies,” says Raiwet. “We have people who train with us, work with us, and some leave to go work for the mine.”

“If we have steady work with our clients, I’m happy to see people work directly for the mines. The goal here is changing people’s lives – and we need to do it together. This doesn’t only help community; it helps our province as a whole.”