Labrador mining firm eyes Ireland for workers

A major mining company in Labrador is going to Ireland this week to recruit workers.

Heather Bruce-Veitch, a director with the Iron Ore Company of Canada, says it's especially hard to attract journeymen and journeywomen from this province.

So the company is looking to Ireland where the unemployment rate is high.

Bruce-Veitch said Irish workers will feel at home here.

"The temperature, the weather, the geography is very similar," she said.

"There are certainly a lot of us who have ties to Ireland to begin with, so we think it'll be an easy fit for many of those people."

Bruce-Veitch said there are currently 50 vacancies at IOCC, but that number will grow.

She said in five years, half of the company's skilled workforce is eligible to retire.