Mining’s War for Talent

Explosive growth of the mining industry in British Columbia in recent years has lead to a looming employee shortage. Across Canada, estimates are up to 40% of workers in the industry who will be retiring within the next 10 years. British Columbia, with some 25 potential large-scale projects on the books, is facing a particular dilemma. Each new mine means on average 250 new jobs, never mind the jobs required in the industries that support the mines.

In 2005 the Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council estimated that the Canadian mining sector will need some 81,000 new employees in the next decade in order to meet the industry’s needs. With half of the proposed major mining projects in Canada based in British Columbia, the talent crunch is expected to hit the west coast particularly hard. Couple this daunting figure with the possibility of massive retirement in the shorter term, and the looming shortage begins to look more like a crisis.

To top off the crisis, mining is not the only sector facing a skills shortage; high energy prices have created a great “sucking sound” as workers migrate to Alberta’s oil industry for some of the most lucrative and accessible jobs in the country.

Yet this looming crisis shouldn’t be happening–mining jobs generally pay well, and are secure and available. PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates the average income for someone in the industry is approximately $94,000 and the typical starting wage for a mining engineering graduate is over $50,000. Add to that the prospects of interesting and challenging work in often exotic settings. Despite these obvious attractions, young people are still not looking to mining and related fields as a career option.

In British Columbia the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC), led by president Michael McPhie, is working with industry, educators, government and other associations to tackle the problem, but the fear is that even concerted, immediate action may not be enough. “Even if we could expand and fill every existing mining-related training program in B.C. tomorrow, we still would be behind the eightball in a few years,” says McPhie.

In the face of the looming talent crunch, industry in British Columbia is working with a number of stakeholders on short- and long-term solutions. Most recently, representatives of industry in B.C. accompanied the British Columbia Minister of State for Mining, Bill Bennett, on a trip to Ottawa. Part of the trip included meetings with representatives of the Honourable Monte Solberg, federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The B.C. representatives delivered a strong message regarding the need to ensure that the short-term employment gap the industry is facing would be addressed.

Earlier in the year Solberg had announced the creation of pilot Temporary Foreign Worker Units in B.C. & Alberta. This program will assist employers in bringing in temporary workers including such categories as geologists and in-company transfers.

B.C. universities and colleges are also rising to the talent-shortage challenge. Four post- secondary institutions provide programs leading to careers in the industry: Northwest Community College’s School of Exploration and Mining, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Mining Technology Program, the Cranbrook-based College of the Rockies’ Mining Apprenticeship Program, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Norman B. Keevil School of Mining Engineering. While these programs may be able to meet some of the needs, the reality is that uptake of all these programs has not yet met expectations and these programs alone are not even remotely capable of addressing the scale of need that presently exists, let alone future anticipated needs.

An exciting development at BCIT is the launch of the Aboriginal Minerals Training and Employment Program (AMTEP). The program is a partnership between the institute, the Association for Mineral Exploration BC (AMEBC), MABC and the British Columbia Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources. The program, according to the BCIT website, is part of the acknowledgement that Aboriginal communities have a right and interest to benefit from resource extraction within their traditional territories. But the demand for the program is driven by the fact that “many Aboriginal communities face high levels of unemployment and at the same time, the minerals sector is facing a critical employment shortage…”

Government is also wrestling with the employment issue on a number of fronts. In particular, the British Columbia provincial government recognizes that given the location of most existing and potential B.C. mines, the province’s Aboriginal community is a key target for future jobs. The premier of the province, Gordon Campbell, stated in January 2006, “Mining creates well-paying, family-sustaining jobs in communities throughout B.C., and we want to ensure young people have the skills to take advantage of those opportunities as they arise today and into the future.”

Early in 2006, the government announced $300,000 of funding to continue the Northwest School of Exploration and Mining’s pilot program. Based at the Northwest Community College, this program is a partnership between the Smithers Exploration Group, the college and government to deliver basic mining education programs to First Nations and rural communities. The government also announced $1 million to expand the pilot program into a new province-wide mining education and skills development program, and $1 million to create prospector and environmental teams to provide hands-on experience for youth in prospecting and environmental reclamation.

Through MABC and AMEBC, industry is aggressively lobbying government to further streamline immigration procedures to ensure that companies can recruit talent worldwide. The industry associations are also asking governments to work harder to promote the industry and increase the number of training programs available and their location. “Perhaps we should be taking training to communities and First Nations instead of simply enticing their young people away for their education,” muses McPhie.

The combined result of these myriad of initiatives is twofold. Firstly, British Columbians are becoming more aware of the value of the industry and its impact on their lives. Secondly, as awareness increases, the industry can expect that more young people, and hopefully Aboriginal youth in particular, will seek employment in the sector.

Unfortunately, according to industry, the lead time for much of this work is far too long. Young people considering mining are years aware from being employable, but the skills shortage exists now. Immigration and temporary workers may help fill the gap, but this is seen as a Band-aid solution at best.

If British Columbia is to remain a world leader for mining and a significant cluster of companies and expertise, more work will need to be done–and fast. Only through the co-operation of industry, educators, associations, First Nations, communities and government can this happen.

Byng Giraud is senior director of policy & communications with the Mining Association of British Columbia. He can be reached at byng@mining.bc.ca or 604-681-4321, ex 110.