New website invites people to make Sault Ste. Marie home
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
As part of FutureSSM’s efforts to retain, recruit and repatriate people to Sault Ste. Marie, a new website has been developed to showcase all that Sault Ste. Marie has to offer, including high quality job opportunities, short commute times, affordability and an exceptional lifestyle.
Like many communities in Northern Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie is facing major demographic challenges amidst a battle for talent. A quarter of our workforce is over the age of 55, and as this group retires in the next few years, employers in the community will be looking to replace over 9,000 workers.
The new resource,
www.welcometossm.com encourages people to return home, or move their skills north by highlighting Sault Ste. Marie’s work-life balance, and providing information on high quality jobs, the local housing market, transportation, healthcare, education, arts and culture, places of worship and more. The website also includes positive video stories of people who have made the move to or returned to Sault Ste. Marie.
“With our high quality of life, and high volume of professional positions available, Sault Ste. Marie stands in a class of its own. There is no better community in Canada to be from or to move to,” stated Travis Anderson, Project Manager FutureSSM. “This new website is part of FutureSSM’s larger strategy to address our labour force needs by retaining local youth, repatriating ex-Saultites back to the community and attracting newcomers to Sault Ste. Marie."
A job portal and resume bank are other key elements of the new site that will assist both local employers and job seekers to fill job vacancies. Employers such as Algoma Steel, JD Aero, Sault Area Hospital, Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation and others have expressed concern about finding enough workers with required skill sets for current and projected employment opportunities. Those positions include Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME), millwrights, machinists, speech language pathologists, software developers, physicians, registered nurses, accountants, financial analysts, professors (Aviation, International Business, Social Studies), forest biologists and more.
FutureSSM is encouraging Saultites, employers and recruitment agencies to use this tool as a resource when making the case for Sault Ste. Marie. This resource is complemented by Sault Ste. Marie’s new brand and visual identity, targeted job fairs, and programs to build greater awareness amongst our youth about the employment opportunities that exist locally.