Connecting Sudbury service companies to the globe: SAMSSA announces partner access to Magnet Export Business Portal.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association

Finding new markets for mining and engineering companies is easier thanks to a partnership between an export consortium in Sudbury and a data platform company.

The Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) announced on Nov. 15 at its quarterly Export Club meeting that it has teamed up with Magnet Export Business Portal.

Members and invited guests packed the room to find out how this partnership would help benefit their companies and business ventures.

Magnet's project manager, Devon Franklin, explained the platform is similar to other career-focused social media like LinkedIn, but is targeted specifically to help businesses find and navigate potential employees, relevant events, export-related finding, trade missions and other resources by using matching technology.

"It's streamlining who you want to connect," said Franklin.

Along with seeking out new business ventures, companies can also post jobs.

Originally, the City of Greater Sudbury approached Magnet at the Northern Ontario Exports Forum.

Franklin said the challenges the city and members of SAMSSA were experiencing were similar to other markets.

The partnership is just getting started, but Franklin said they are already working toward 2019 to promote the portal and get more SAMSSA members connected.

The platform will cast a large net for SAMSSA members, covering everything from trade partners to recruitment.

"It's impossible to sort through everything that is out there," said Paul Bradette, SAMSSA's director of business development. "A Google search will bring back 300 things. This is very target-specific. So it will benefit those that register for it."

The partnership shows they are actively reaching out to promote business in the North.

Originally launched in 2014 as a response to the growing recruitment problem in Ontario, SAMSSA created the portal as a matchmaking site between Ryerson students and employers, rather than job hunters going to more general sites.

Whenever an employer posts a job in the portal, it matches people to the posting based on certain parameters, rather than people seeking out the posting.

"It uses the technology to match businesses to job seekers, based on skills, education and competency," Franklin explained. "Rather than get...