New jobs open in Hamilton's National Steel Car

This year has seen its share of reports that tank and freight cars are in high demand. Many industries have faced challenges when it comes to rail transportation as older rail cars are no longer operational, new regulation deems cars unsafe, or just a lack of supply to meet the demand. This is one of the big problems for the oil industry in Canada.

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, there is an increased demand for tank cars to transport crude oil due to the  current status of proposed major crude oil expansions such as Keystone XL, the Trans Mountain Expansion, Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Project and TransCanada’s proposed Energy East Pipeline. Because none of these projects are yet in the construction phase  growth in demand for rail capacity is expected to continue in the near future with significant loading capacity coming into service before 2016. The oil industry needs a way to move its product while the pipelines are being constructed. There is an increase in demand that the current rail industry isn't able to meet.

Another reason demand is increasing both in Canadian and American industries is due to new regulation. The U.S. and Canada have set standards on tank cars that require an increase puncture-resistance. The challenge is whether or not to retrofit older cars or just go with new ones. Again, either way, this will keep demand up. Canada set a three-year deadline to replace or retrofit 65,000 tank cars that carry flammable materials. In the U.S. rail regulators have not yet set a deadline but are expected to adopt tougher standards by the end of the year.

What does this mean for the Canadian rail industry? Well,  the  Hamilton’s National Steel Car is going on a hiring spree in order to meet the  increasing demand for tank and freight cars.

In December 2013, the company laid off over 400 of its employees, all of which are being recalled, according to reports.

In addition to the returning workers, they have added 100 new employees and are still looking for more.

The company is looking for approximately 300 new workers, many of the positions are for welders, but other skilled tradespeople are needed. National Steel Car is offering a two-week certified training course, and offering wages up to $21 per hour, and full benefits after roughly three months of full time work.

A job fair was held on Saturday, August 23, with great success. The company is reporting that over 1,000 people showed up for its job fair for roughly 400 positions, well above what the company expected. The event began right at 9 a.m., with most people showing up hours before, and ran right past the 3 p.m. ending time. It is estimated that of the 400 workers, 300 will be welders, while the remaining 100 will fall into other skilled trades. The company is looking to expand and create longstanding jobs.