The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
Vale Ltd. is embarking on an aggressive campaign to hire more than 40 engineers and hundreds of other employees by “selling” the quality of life in the Nickel City and the opportunities for advancement with the giant miner.
At least 400 new employees will be hired this year, many to work on the $3.4 billion in investments the company is making in its Clean AER project at the Copper Cliff Smelter.
Engineers are also needed to do preliminary work on Vale’s Victor-Capre and Copper Cliff Deep projects.
Vale employs almost 4,000 people at Sudbury in six mines, a mill, a smelter and a refinery. Kelly Strong, general manager of Vale’s Ontario operations, says his company is in stiff competition with mining companies, such as BHP and Rio Tinto — and from other industries such as oil and gas.
Part of the company’s hiring plan is promoting a new image of mining, starting in area high schools, and at colleges and universities.
“Mining is a very interesting field,” Strong said Tuesday. “There’s lots of new technology (and) some of it is helping shape the image of our industry. It is a highly skilled industry. Some of that campaign will be targeting some of those areas, as well.”
Vale employs 140 people in engineering roles and another 100 with professional engineering designations as project managers and supervisors.
About 30 people participate in Vale’s Engineer In Training program, where graduates get four years of on-the-job experience in a variety of fields before getting their professional designation.
Vale has some “significant challenges” to hiring the skilled employees it needs, said Strong.
“We’re all fighting for the same finite amount of resources so … we’re doing what we can to attract people to Sudbury.”
Part of Vale’s sales pitch is that Sudbury offers a good quality of life. “We’re really trying to (promote) that and show people why it’s good to work for Vale and why it’s good to live in Sudbury.”
Vale will target skilled people who work at fly-in, fly-out operations who may be tired of the lifestyle.
People opt for these jobs because the money is good, but Vale will ask these workers to consider the down side of being away from their families for long periods and the advantages of living in a growing community like Sudbury, as well as comparable remuneration.
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