A foot in the door to the steel industry: Sault College rolls pilot program to teach the basics of working in steel.

A rapidly aging workforce in Sault Ste. Marie means there are plenty of jobs available across the board.

No more than in the city's bread-and-butter industry, the steel sector.

According to a spring 2019 labour market scan by the Algoma Workforce Investment Corporation, 29 per cent of the district's manufacturing workforce is over the age of 55 as more people continue to leave the city than arrive to settle.

Sixty per cent of manufacturers reported having difficulty filling jobs for millwrights, industrial mechanics, welders, machine operators, industrial electricians and labourers in metal fabrication.

Employment Solutions, a division of Sault College, launched a pilot program during the sumer to introduce job seekers to career opportunities in the steel industry.

Dubbed Manufacturing Fundamentals in Steel Training, it's a free, 15-week program designed to quickly get people into the workforce as entry-level employees with local companies.

Catherine Tosello, program manager with Employment Solutions, has letters of support on file with several local service and supply companies engaged in either steel manufacturing or catering to the steel industry. Employers on the advisory committee have had input in drafting the curriculum for the program.

The offering is part of SkillsAdvance Ontario, a sector-focused workforce development pilot that works to match a pool of qualified job seekers to companies in the steel sector that have identified a need.

The government-funded program offers a mixture of technical and soft skills geared toward candidates who are unemployed, underemployed, or identified by an employer for potential advancement.

Manufacturing Fundamentals in Steel Training isn't the kind of program for someone who's dipping a toe in the water to explore career possibilities. They want motivated and committed individuals who demonstrate some mechanical aptitude and are determined to land a job.

They've adhered to some aggressive timelines since the program was conceived last January.

After getting approval to proceed in April from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and University, curriculum development began right away--in consultation with local employers --to prepare for the first intake of 30 participants starting in August. A second group of 20 is queued up for this fall.

The program is geared toward learners aged 18 and up, Tosello said, mentioning that they've taken in some mature workers.

Seating is limited, and that's for a...