Sarnia has a local labour force of 45,315 workers and access to 358,000 workers within a 100 km radius. Over 86% of the population has completed high school and 56% have obtained a post-secondary degree or diploma or higher.
Sarnia offers world-class expertise in engineering, instrumentation, fuel processing, waste management, advanced industrial materials, metal and plastic fabrication, and environmental solutions. This concentration of skills offers a unique competitive advantage to Sarnia-based companies.
Sarnia also boasts a relatively high concentration of workers in utilities, construction, retail trade, and administrative and support services compared to the country overall. Most of Sarnia’s labour force work in sales and service occupations or occupations in manufacturing and utilities, while health care and social assistance is the largest industry based on percentage of jobs.
Lambton College is an internationally recognized institution with a unique connection to local industry. The college offers programs found nowhere else in Canada. It scores impressive results in surveys of employer, graduate, and student satisfaction, as well as graduate employment. In addition to on-campus programs and courses, Lambton College supports local companies with an Applied Research department that is ranked number one in Canada. The department oversees the Energy & Bio-Industrial Technologies Centre of Excellence, state of the art labs and facilities, as well as five research centres in the areas of bio-industrial processes, industrial material development, bio-technology, energy, and water. This concentration of knowledge offers a unique competitive advantage for Sarnia-based companies.
The Bluewater Association for Safety, Environment, and Sustainability (BASES) combines community safety and awareness, environmental monitoring, and industrial education and training on workplace health and safety. BASES makes an “open, active, and relentless commitment to managing all risks for workers and has over the past century brought together building trades, contractors and employers to build a world class safety culture."
