On track to deal with a looming labour shortage

Site assessment training in a Northwest Community College School of Mining prospecting program. — Photo courtesy of Northwest Community College School of Mining

The gross revenue of the mining industry in British Columbia is between $6 billion and $8 billion each year. New employment opportunities and job creation in the mining sector have the potential to add an additional 10,000 direct jobs over next 10 years. Yes, the industry is booming and a labour shortage is looming—but there's no need to worry just yet. B.C. has a multi-player task force dedicated to this specific issue: implementing workforce measures to ensure the mining industry in the province has the human resources needed to support the growth of the industry.

Dave Bazowski, chair of the B.C. Mining and Mineral Exploration Labour Shortage Task Force, is on the case and has been since 2008. He has been involved with mining for most of his career in the Yukon and B.C. Bazowski started out as a human resources manager, then subsequently a general manager of an underground mine on Vancouver Island. He has also worked for a B.C.-wide coal company.

His first task in 2008 was to bring together a group of stakeholders from across the province that would develop a strategy and implement it over the next few years.

"Initially, we had the same situation three years ago that we do today—looming shortages," said Basowski. "Then of course we went into the recession and we were facing layoffs and curtailments rather than shortages. But we stayed the course as a group."

The task force is made up of mining companies, exploration companies, mining associations, labour unions, aboriginal organizations and schools. In total, there are about 25 organizations represented directly.

On December 2, 2011, the B.C. government announced an additional $1.1 million in funding to support the task force and various associations across B.C. According to Bazowski, the group has also received an additional $150,000 to $200,000 in industry support and about a quarter of a million dollars has been provided in-kind by industry through support of the task force, meetings and helping to organize events. Basowksi said it has very much been a collaboration of efforts by the province and major industry players.

The group's accomplishments are significant and it isn't hard for members to work toward growth and sustainability in an industry that is such a huge part of the provincial economy.

"It's a great industry and one that has evolved to become the safest," said Bazowski. "It is the safest industrial level industry in B.C. and indeed that's the case in Canada. We have a worldwide reputation for the way we conduct mining in this country and abroad. There are over 120 occupations that you can have within the mining industry. The minerals and the products of mining are crucial to our society, so one can take pride in an industry that is producing something that is very valuable in terms of the way we live."

The potential for earnings in the industry are also tremendous, according to Bazowski. In B.C., the average wage with benefits is $108,000 per year. Skills are also very transferrable in the mining industry. Bazowski said if an employee comes into the mining industry and learns a trade or goes through school and becomes an engineer or a geologist or an equipment operator, those skills are transferrable both within the industry and in other parts of the country and around the world.

"There are a lot of features around mining that make it an attractive profession or series of professions to get into," said Bazowski. "The mining companies and exploration that goes on are situated around the province and are close to many rural centres, so there's opportunities for people that are growing up in these more rural regions to get jobs very close to home and very close to where their families are."

Bazowski said this is also true for aboriginal and First Nations people. He said that the mining industry has done a good job of working with Aboriginal Peoples and First Nations to bring more of that population into the industry. He said there is still room for more collaboration and more involvement to increase employment in that sector, but success is evident.

The task force focuses a lot on education and has recently developed some curriculum in high schools, which it is piloting as you read this. Bazowski said the hope is to have the curriculum in use around B.C. The program involves bringing young people directly into the classroom to talk to students about their experiences with mining and education.

They have also developed a brand for mining in B.C. called Explore for More B.C.

"We have developed some creative videos and have gotten involved with social media with a mining blog site last year," said Bazowski. "We've got a great package of career opportunities for people in mining. All these initiatives talk to the industry and talk to jobs in the industry."

Another area the task force is focusing on and will focus on even more in depth in the coming year is attracting women to the mining industry. The task force has a women in mining sub-committee, which formed in 2010. The committee, in partnership with numerous stakeholders, has just released a report called Women: An Unmined Resource, a Report on Female Participation Within B.C.'s Mineral Exploration and Mining Industry. The report can be viewed at www.mining.bc.ca

Bazowski said the sub-committee on women in mining will be getting together in January to discuss implementation strategies for the recommendations from the report.

The industry has certainly recovered from the economic downturn that occurred in 2008 and 2009. According to Bazowski, there are a number of mining operations that have recently expanded their production and therefore their employment needs. On the exploration side, in 2011 the amount of exploration will likely be double what it was in 2010—and there is no sign of that letting up. He also said there is lots of evidence of mines coming on stream over the next five to 10 years that are currently involved in the regulatory process or going through financing.

Right now there are about 300 exploration projects in B.C., with 25 of them spending over $1 million annually. Under the new B.C. Jobs Plan, the government has committed to opening eight new mines and supporting nine upgrades and expansions to currently operating mines.

The task force is a wide ranging group that meets every six weeks. People travel from all over B.C. to get to Vancouver, where the meetings are usually held. Bazowski said there is great enthusiasm building with this three-year plan, especially with the help of the $1.1 million from the provincial government.

"We and the provincial government, over the last short period of time, agreed mining is going to be a very important economic driver in B.C. going forward," said Bazowski. "With the same dynamics that were there three years ago, we've been able to reload and put together a strong three-year program to continue with these initiatives to deal with this looming shortage."