In 2000, the Canadian steel company Dofasco's senior managers commissioned a study to help them gain a better understanding of their workforce and their competencies. The findings of the study came as a surprise: the average employee age was 47 and the average length of service was 23 years. This meant that over the next 5 to 10 years, 50 to 70% of the company's employees would be eligible to retire.

Faced with an aging workforce and limited replacement workers, Dofasco decided to revitalize its apprentice program and create leadership development programs that could quickly bring younger workers up to speed. Today, Dofasco spends about $13 million a year on training and development of its 7,200 employees. The investment has earned the company accolades such as a Financial Post Top 10 Best Companies nomination.

Dofasco supports one of the largest apprentice training programs in Ontario. The program is a combination of college and paid company work experience that takes place over a period of 32 months. At the end of that period, apprentices are eligible to be hired by Dofasco, where they will spend another 32 months in a training program. The program has double benefits. Participants get to experience the corporate culture before they formally commit and Dofasco gets a chance to see candidates work in action. The company spends more than $200,000 on each apprentice in the program. Brian Mullen, Dofasco's director of human resources says that "too many companies take the approach that employees are a cost and you shouldn't spend any more than you have to because there is no return. An engaged, productive workforce-I don't think you could ask for much more of a return than that."

The Dofasco Leadership Academy, a set of learning and development programs also helps them to minimize the impact of the loss of skilled employees. The Foundations program is a three-day off-site class that teaches business strategies, competencies, and values that Dofasco holds in high regard. These strategies are then compared with other large corporate strategies like those of Dell and General Electric. Coaching for High Performance is another program designed to prepare young employees for leadership roles. This 11-day program, held over four months, covers team development, communication, coaching, managing performance, leading change, and providing leadership. Participants are also required to meet with managers from local companies to hear about their management strategies.

All new hires also attend the company's Play to Win team-building retreats where participants spend three days at a ski resort participating in events like climbing. The program helps to identify leaders and to foster camaraderie among participants.

Dofasco also offers perks including a profit sharing program, a recreational facility and three 24-hour gyms on-site. In the end, the company's development programs are the tools that help to engage young employees as long-term leaders. They estimate that with the programs they have in place, they have been able to reduce the typical development timeframe of 10 to 15 years to develop a good leader down to five or six years.