The BC AMTA will continue to provide valuable services

1 of 3Mary Brearly, a Kamloops Indian Band member, is a processing operations trainee working at New Gold’s New Afton Mine. — Photo courtesy BC AMTA

2 of 3This heavy equipment operator instructor is using creative tools for his BC AMTA students. — Photo courtesy BC AMTA

3 of 3A student in the heavy equipment operator program receives his Industry Training Authority certificate. — Photo courtesy BC AMTA

The British Columbia Aboriginal Mine Training Association (BC AMTA), a non-profit society, has helped hundreds of aboriginal people find work in the mining industry. It has assisted people in obtaining jobs and training ranging from entry-level security jobs at a mine site to underground miner certification, after which these individuals acquire jobs that can pay $60,000 a year.

But in June of 2012, the BC AMTA had to close its doors and lay off all its employees due to a lack of funding. After three years of providing an incredible service to both aboriginal communities and the industry itself, the lights turned off on an association that was surviving strictly through government and industry partner contributions.

Laurie Sterritt is the executive director of the BC AMTA and she said they always knew that the federal dollars, their operational funding, would come to an end on March 31, 2012.

"Some of our industry partners did provide some financial assistance to keep us going until June," she said, "but as our cash flow was getting tighter and we didn't have certainty around a federal agreement, we had to lay off our staff. It was a genuine business decision and there was nothing else attached to it other than we didn't have the money in the bank to continue paying our staff."

In hindsight, Sterritt said, the result is that it had to be an urgent situation before the government and the people they were negotiating with saw it as an urgent need.

"We've been in discussion for a long time both with the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada group and the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development group," Sterritt said, "and it's not that they were not in discussion with us in good faith, it's just that they have other priorities and other things on their plates too. So I do think that they had intentions to move forward with us but it wasn't an urgent situation."

So when the BC AMTA did make its drastic business decision, it brought about a huge awareness that the association was going to dissolve. The government bodies then put all their resources together to make sure the association got an agreement.

Although the BC AMTA doesn't have the official signature of the government authority yet as this is still in the process, association representatives believe it will end up with another three-year agreement. At this point, the BC AMTA is aiming for a three-year program that would expand its operations into two new regions. The BC AMTA currently operates just in the Thompson/Okanagan region of British Columbia but it would like to have a presence and offices in the Kootenay and Cariboo regions as well.

This is all amazing news to the 1,000-plus aboriginal people currently in the BC AMTA's database. To date, 335 First Nations people have achieved full-time employment in the mining industry, 500 have gone through some sort of upgrading or training program through the association and another 150 or more are in some stage of training or development and will be ready for employment soon.

"With over 1,000 people registered in our system in total, (this) means there is lots of interest," said Sterritt. "Now it's a matter of making sure we have the resources and the capacity to provide support for all of those people. I think what this next agreement will do is free us up and allow us to do the expansion and provide services to all those people."

The BC AMTA offers a wide range of services. The non-profit, charitable organization provides B.C.’s aboriginal people with the skills they need to work in the full cycle of exploration, mine development, mine operations and reclamation.

According to the BC AMTA, it is well known that demographic trends indicate an acute shortage of skilled workers in these and other industries in Canada. With many operating mines and proposed mines on traditional First Nations territory and near First Nations communities, the alignment between the industry’s need for workers and the aboriginal population’s need for jobs is very strong.

The BC AMTA was formed with the mandate of filling the skills gap between First Nations communities and the workforce to meet the needs of the exploration and mining industries. The association has worked incredibly hard to put together relevant programs for a whole spectrum of entry-level positions through to occupational positions.

"Our goal is to ensure that aboriginal candidates can become skilled and experienced enough to be the best candidate for the job," Sterritt said.

One of the BC AMTA's most significant programs as far as size and impact goes is the underground miner training program. The program is something BC AMTA built with the New Afton Mine owned by New Gold and through a partnership with Thompson Rivers University. At present, the BC AMTA is at about 50 per cent intake. Another program is the heavy equipment operator program.

"The program follows the guidelines of the Industry Training Authority, so it is a certified trade," Sterritt said, "and we do follow the curriculum and we adapt the program very much to the style of the aboriginal learner. So it's very much experiential and kinesthetic learning—a lot of interaction and one-on-one coaching with the instructors. There's a three-to-one student-teacher ratio and a lot higher in-seat practical time for students to get the experience they need. Many of our candidates have received employment offers before they were even finished their training."

The BC AMTA's assessment and training programs are designed specifically to respect First Nations culture while ensuring candidates get the appropriate levels of training to meet industry needs. In many ways, this brings together new business approaches and a structure with cultural traditions and experiential learning along the way. The programs not only develop appropriate skills and training, they build confidence and self-esteem too. These elements are critical to producing long-term benefits for the individuals, communities and companies who are committed to long-term working relationships.

Once the new agreement is signed, the hope is that the BC AMTA will continue to operate and provide a ray of hope for aboriginal people who dream of a prosperous career in the mining industry.