It was an invite-only event with a twist.
Last week, PowerCo held a Shopfloor Hiring Network event designed to connect local talent in industrial electrician, millwright and industrial automation roles with their gigafactory team.
Those attending had the opportunity to meet company leadership, explore career opportunities and get an up-close look at what it would be like to be an employee at what is to become the largest EV battery plant in Canada.
As the evening started to wind down, we spoke with Shuja Qadri, manager of talent acquisition, who observed, “Considering this was an invite-only RSVP event that we wanted to look at based on skill set and experiences, we actually had over 65 people turn up for the event.”
With the region’s diverse manufacturing history, the talent pool runs deep.
“So we’re very fortunate to be in such a spot where we have GM, Cami, and even Toyota. We have some of our suppliers who we work with here closely. Folks within Magna as well.
“So, a lot of parallel industries where we can grab talent. So we’re fortunate to be in a spot where, especially for our skilled labour and skilled trades, we’ll have that opportunity to grow that team quite quickly.”
Very quickly, reiterated Qadri.
The plan is to have a workforce in the range of 3,000 as the gigafactory ramps up production.
“So we will have a lot of direct and indirect impact in terms of the economy and local community. So that is still the game plan. And obviously, offering those skilled and specialty jobs to the local workforce and training them up to the standards of our sustainable energy.”
So, when can these early hires begin on the shop floor?
PowerCo has brought some of its team over from Germany to assist with the acclimatization and training of new hires.
“We have people on temporary assignments who bring certain knowledge and expertise from the Volkswagen group from Germany to make sure that the best practices that they have in their sister plants are implemented and the lessons learned are implemented.”
As to moving forward with completion of the gigafactory, given the tumultuous economic times, Qadri stressed PowerCo has a plan.
Qadri ended the conversation on an upbeat note.
“We’re continuously hiring. So, if individuals are interested, please visit our careers page at http://powerco.ca. All our jobs are listed there. We’ll have more jobs to come in 2026 as well and beyond.
“My team is continuously looking at those individuals applying. We’re all manually checking them, so there’s no automation involved, so we’re making sure we get the right individuals and the right goals .”
Written by Ian McCallum
