Throughout its 91 years, Canada's leading steel manufacturer has prided itself on the way it treats it employees. "Our product is steel; our strength is people" has been the hallmark of Dofasco Inc. since the phrase was coined for the company by a young advertising executive almost 40 years ago.

Regularly included in MediaCorp's annual list of Canada's Top 100 Employers, Dofasco ranks Number One among the ten best employers of "seasoned pros". It's also listed among Canada's 50 best employers by the Globe and Mail Report on Business.

With close to half of its employees over 50, Dofasco fully recognizes the skills and experience of its senior people, says Louie Leombruni, who heads the Corporate Training and Development division as team leader for the company's Human Resources department in Hamilton. In fact, the company in some way views itself a pioneer in the way it maximizes the abilities and experience of its senior employees in reinforcing the job skills of its younger people.

"What we try to do is a more proactive approach in dealing with our more senior people," he explains. "We identify individuals who are getting closer to that 60-year age category. We look at that well in excess of five years in advance, especially on the skilled trades side, so that a senior person that has been here and has all that experience and wealth of knowledge can work with the individuals we've hired, mentor them and give them that experience to guide them in the direction we need."

That succession planning approach ensures that a continuity of skills is passed on to younger a generation of Dofasco employees, Leombruni adds. "We use our senior people while they're still here," he says, "rather than have them leave and then find ourselves in a shortage where we won't have the individuals around with the experience to transfer to people we bring in."

The average age of Dofasco's 7,200-member workforce is about 49. Though some stay on the job through to 65, the majority tend to leave by age 60 and often move on to new careers. Close to 50 percent of the company's workforce may retire within the next five years, Leombruni predicts. And although the company posted record earnings in 2004 of $377 million in net income on $3.5 billion in total revenues, new automation systems mean not all positions will be filled on a one-to-one basis. Meanwhile, Dofasco makes no distinction among its employees on the basis of age, gender or any other criteria. The company spends more than $5 million in training alone-upgrading all employees' skills-which is now moving away from physical activities to more computer-based automation roles that come with the current $700 million update of its finishing division.

"We have ongoing training programs for all our people as technology comes along, so we actually recognize it as a competitive advantage having our skill sets at the highest level possible," Leombruni says, pointing out that, as a result, when senior employees decide they are ready to retire from the company, they are well equipped with state-of-the-art skills in their field.

"A lot of our people do look forward to retirement because it means a second career start for them generally," he says. "Because they are so well developed in terms of skills and capabilities they can go and pick and choose what they want to do and when they want to work. Should they want to continue on working, they've got lots of opportunities outside of Dofasco because of what we give them in terms of capabilities."

Many go into consulting, others start their own businesses and some are even brought back to Dofasco in mentoring roles. That cohesive approach fostered by the company in its policy of having senior people working with younger employees produces multiple benefits.

"If anything, it's re-energized some of our senior people, because they've transferred what they've learned and experienced to younger people and it's sort of like leaving a legacy now," Leombruni sums up. "They look at that and say 'wow, that's a great opportunity'-to know that their work and their experience has been recognized. And that means a lot because they're very proud of their work."