Duke Smart Staffing Helps Find the In-Demand Talent that DND Needs

BY JAMES CARELESS

Modernizing the Canadian Armed Forces‘ arsenal is dependent on having the skilled personnel to produce the required equipment. This increased labour demand is occurring at a time when the Baby Boomers are retiring and the pool of skilled young people to replace them is small. The result is intense competition for well-qualified workers across Canada, which is a headache modern business can do without.

Fortunately, Duke Smart Staffing Solutions (dukesmartstaffing.ca) is here to help. Based in Burlington, Ontario, Duke has spent more than two decades finding and placing highly skilled professionals for the Canadian defence sector.

DUKE AND DEFENCE

There are many human resources companies in Canada that can identify and place skilled workers. But when it comes to meeting the Department of National Defence’s particular needs, Duke is different. The reason: “Duke Smart Staffing Solutions is a Canadian and women-owned workforce and talent strategy firm dedicated to the defence, shipbuilding, and aerospace sectors,” said Brian Logue, Duke’s Business Development Coordinator. “Our role is to act as a bridge between government priorities, prime contractors, shipyards, and the skilled workforce required to deliver on Canada’s defence commitments.”

Rather than operating as a traditional staffing firm, Duke focuses on program-aligned workforce solutions to meet its defence industry clients’ specific needs. This ensures that the right talent is available, trained, cleared, and retained by them over the full program lifecycle. “Duke has been built under the leadership of our President Sonia Logue whose background in relationship-driven business development and long-term workforce planning has shaped Duke’s approach to strengthening Canada’s defence capabilities,” Logue told CDR.

SUPPORTING THE NSS

Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) is the most ambitious naval procurement project in our nation’s history. Duke Smart Staffing Solutions is helping DND find and retain the skilled personnel to build these ships efficiently.

“The NSS is fundamentally a ‘people strategy’ as much as it is an industrial one,” said Logue. “This being the case, Duke’s role within the NSS ecosystem is to support shipyards and suppliers by stabilizing and scaling skilled labour pipelines in alignment with multi-decade program demands.”

To make this happen, Duke works directly with each NSS prime contractor to forecast workforce needs, source specialized talent, and implement structured onboarding and retention strategies when called upon. As each shipbuilding program matures, Duke’s role transitions from design and construction into sustainment. In all phases of the program, Duke helps ensure that skills continuity and knowledge are preserved. This helps reduce workforce turnover and project risk.

PREPARING CANADA’S NEXT-GENERATION
DEFENCE WORKFORCE

Mindful that the Baby Boomers are retiring faster than they can be replaced, Duke is investing heavily in building Canada’s next-generation defence workforce. The company is doing this by working with post-secondary institutions, Indigenous communities, and community partners to align curriculum with real defence program requirements. Taking this proactive approach ensures that Duke is assisting in the production of the next generation of the defence workforce after graduation.

“We focus on career path visibility, helping students and early-career professionals understand how defence careers evolve over decades,” Logue told CDR. “By promoting defence as a stable, mission-driven sector, we are helping to attract talent that might otherwise overlook shipbuilding and defence in favour of shorter-cycle industries.”

HELPING WITH ITB

Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy is a central element of our nation’s procurement process, ensuring that the Canadian economy benefits from the billions being spent on defence purchases.

“Talent development, training, and employment outcomes are increasingly recognized as high-value contributors to ITBs,” noted Logue. “Workforce investment directly supports Canada’s industrial base, innovation capacity, and regional economic development. Duke helps primes and Tier 2 suppliers operationalize talent as an ITB lever. This ranges from structured hiring commitments and training programs to partnerships with Canadian institutions and underrepresented communities. By designing measurable workforce initiatives, we help clients align people strategies with ITB objectives while delivering real operational value.”

MANAGING DEMAND

Major defence projects typically require large pools of skilled workers in various locations working on tight schedules. Duke is adept at helping defence contractors manage this demand effectively. “This is because Canada’s defence workforce challenge isn’t just a shortage,” Logue said. “It’s a coordination issue across timelines, geographies and skill sets.”

To address this reality on an ongoing basis, Duke acts as a centralized workforce partner that understands the full defence ecosystem, in order to address all challenges in real time. “For instance, managing ramp-up plans, attrition, and accessing specialized talent pools helps ensure long-term placement and retention,” said Logue. “This ensures that skills remain within the Canadian defence industrial base rather than cycling in and out of the sector.”

Duke also reduces project risk through the use of cross-trained workers. “Duke actively supports cross-skilling initiatives that allow workers to transition between related roles as each project’s needs evolve,” Logue told CDR. “This reduces dependency on single-skill bottlenecks, mitigates delays caused by turnover or attrition, and improves overall workforce stability. For our clients, this translates directly into lower program risk, improved continuity and stronger delivery confidence.”

SUCCESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

Understanding that “teamwork makes the dream work,” Duke actively builds partnerships with colleges, Indigenous communities, and training institutions to find more skilled workers for defence employers.

“Our partnerships are built around mutual accountability and long-term outcomes, not short-term hiring targets,” said Logue. “By working with colleges and training institutions, we help ensure graduates are defence-ready from Day One. Engagement with Indigenous communities is especially important, as it supports inclusive growth while expanding Canada’s skilled labour pool in a meaningful way. For our clients, these partnerships deliver reliable talent pipelines, ITB-aligned outcomes and reputational strength in the communities in which they operate.”

2026 PLANS

In 2026, Duke Smart Staffing Solutions will continue to scale up while acting as a “go-to” strategic workforce partner for Canada’s defence and shipbuilding sectors.

“Our focus is on deeper integration with client programs, expanded institutional partnerships and increased support for ITB-aligned workforce initiatives,” Logue concluded. “We see our future role as helping industry move from reactive hiring to intentional workforce planning—supporting Canada’s defence readiness while strengthening the domestic industrial base for decades to come.”

James Careless is CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief