Janis Dubreuil
Janis has worked in the Saskatchewan construction industry since graduating from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000 with a Civil Engineering Degree. Upon graduating she joined her family construction company, Allan Construction, and became one of the partners in 2005.
Janis has served on several boards within Saskatchewan over the past 12 years. In 2007, she joined the Saskatoon Construction Association and became the first female president in 2014. During that time Janis also served on the Saskatchewan Construction Association for 2 years and is currently sits on the Saskatoon Industry Education Council board.
Janis has been married to Blaine for 24 years and they have 3 sons together.
Q&A with Janis Dubreuil
Q: Why do you think the Saskatchewan Advisory Committee is important?
A: The growth and scaling of women-owned and led businesses is vital to our economy and our communities. We have seen the documented facts that show Saskatchewan is falling behind the Canadian average of women-owned and women-led companies. We need to continue to expand the resources that are available to these businesses as they are extremely important to the economy.
I believe that this committee will be successful if it is able to provide the education and increased awareness in our province that will help with the scalability of our female businesses.
Q: What were your experiences in scaling up?
A: Scaling up can be an overwhelming and insurmountable task for many businesses. Having a strong mentorship group and family support is extremely important.
Allan Construction started out as a family run business in 1992, before myself and the 3 other employees joined the partnership in 2005. Since then we have continued to diversify and scale our business to help us find our niche within the Saskatchewan Commercial/Industrial Construction sector.
Some of the most important pieces in our scaling up was the strong leadership and mentorship from Monte and Gail Allan and each of our own individual families.
Q: What personal experiences have shaped your expertise on the committee?
A: As a female owner in a successful Saskatchewan construction company, I have worked very hard with our partners to grow and diversity our company within the ever-changing construction sector. This included working directly with industry mentors and family members as well as attending continuing educational seminars offered through the various educational providers.
There have been some challenges surrounding my growth in the construction industry as it is typically male-orientated, but I would say that it has been a positive and rewarding experience. I would also encourage women to look into the opportunities available in the non-traditional sectors including the Trade Sectors and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas.
Q: If you could change one thing in Saskatchewan so women owned businesses can scale what would it be?
A: Continue to educate our school-aged children on the opportunities that are available to all of them! We are seeing these opportunities increasing and expanding and now we need to work on getting this information spread throughout the school and parent/caregiver network. With their parents supports our children have a world of possibilities open for them!
I believe we also need to continue to support our women-owned/led businesses as they work on scaling their own businesses through mentorship opportunities. Having the ability to contact a mentor to discuss the business or personal questions they may have is a vital foundation in any business.
Q: What about yourself do you feel comfortable sharing?
A: My husband, Blaine, and I have three wonderful sons. Two of them are currently enrolled in the University of Saskatchewan and one is still in high school. On top of staying busy with our boys’ sports and activities, we enjoy spending time at our cabin and skiing in the mountains.