Immigration pilot program helping Sault Ste. Marie businesses flourish, including Soo Foundry and Machine Ltd

On top of that, Sault College offered a program he was interested in — Mechanical Engineering Technician. It was there Serra met Derek Hanchuk, a part time teacher in the program who is also in charge of management and new business inquiries at Soo Foundry and Machine Ltd., a fixture in the Sault Ste. Marie economy for over 50 years.

Years ago, Soo Foundry identified that the community had a shortage of trades and engineers and was looking at different routes to hire workers. In 2022, the company made their first RNIP application. Their workforce of roughly 90 people now includes nine RNIP applicants. Serra is one of them. Originally hired on for a summer position, he was later offered a permanent position and has now been employed at Soo Foundry for a year and a half.

Hanchuk says the RNIP program made the process seamless because companies are able to hire local people that are already embedded in the community.

“Through the program and the college, it attracted professionals, like Mat, to be introduced to our community and allowed us to hire them with very little risk — they’re already living here. We’re not looking at moving them across the world,” he said.

“We got to know him and we saw that he would be a great fit and it’s been great ever since. Mat also was one of the first people we brought through the RNIP and, through his self-education of the program, he’s helped a lot of our other candidates and has actually acted as a sounding board for them.”