The inaugural BC Mining HR Diversity Award

(L to R) Dave Bazowski, chair, BC Mining HR Task Force; Korah Dewalt, Tk'emlups te Secwepemc, New Afton New Gold HR assistant and community relations generalist; Michelle Nahanee, Squamish Nation, BC AMTA marketing and communication; Brianna Bloom, New Afton New Gold HR supervisor; Karina Briño, president and CEO, MABC. — Photo courtesy MABC

The BC Mining HR Task Force (Task Force) was originally formed in 2007 to identify the causes of and opportunities to address the labour shortage facing the mining industry in British Columbia. Since then, the Task Force has expanded to include planning, developing and implementing pilot programs across the province to ensure the growth of the industry workforce. This year, the Task Force and the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) joined forces to celebrate human resources diversity in the mining sector by creating the BC Mining HR Diversity Award.

2013 is the inaugural year for the annual BC Mining HR Diversity Award. It was created to recognize an organization’s outstanding commitment to encouraging and supporting diversity within the workforce in the mining industry in B.C. HR diversity success is marked by a focus on attracting, recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, as well as the advancement or development of individuals within a workforce.

“The award came about after we realized that there were some amazing initiatives going on in the industry focused on growing diversity in the workplace,” said Jill Tsolinas, the BC Mining HR Diversity Award co-chair. "It was agreed across the industry that companies focusing on creating opportunities should be recognized and innovative practices highlighted for others in the industry to learn from."

Ernst & Young sponsored the BC Mining HR Diversity Award, and on May 1, 2013, the award was presented to the British Columbia Aboriginal Mine Training Association (BC AMTA) and New Gold. The official presentation—which happened during BC Mining Week at the Women in Mining Gala in Vancouver, B.C.—was made by Karina Briño, president and CEO of MABC; Dave Bazowski, chair of the BC Mining HR Task Force; and Tsolinas.

Zoë Younger, vice-president of corporate affairs for the MABC, said that while each submission had its strength, the joint BC AMTA and New Gold nomination presented the strongest emphasis on encouraging and supporting diversity within the workplace, with tangible results.

“Mining companies across B.C. recognize the value of creating a workplace that values diversity,” said Younger. “What BC AMTA and New Gold have done through their partnership is create a model with positive results that can be measured and hopefully duplicated across B.C.”

Tsolinas said that New Gold began the process of finding a fit for local First Nations years before it was set to begin operations at its mine site near Kamloops, B.C.

"The BC AMTA and New Gold partnership started when they wanted to find the perfect synergy between hiring locally and engaging First Nations," said Tsolinas. "New Gold had a new site coming online called New Afton, which is a mine site located in Kamloops. They really thought ahead of the game, in that years before they knew they were going to be in operation, they realized they would need an additional workforce in Kamloops. They also realized there was a number of aboriginal communities that wanted to be engaged, wanted job security, to be trained and to have an income coming in for their families and communities."

Tsolinas said the two organizations became leaders in designing the BC AMTA model, which has become accepted as a new industry best practice. New Gold spent a lot of time and resources supporting the development of BC AMTA’s operation, tweaking the processes and creating an efficient model that is now being implemented at mine sites across the province.

In partnership with industry, governments and educators, BC AMTA provides training and support services to aboriginal participants through a formal process of personal and professional development—a process that leads to sustainable careers within the full cycle of mining, including exploration, mine development, operations and reclamation.

Tsolinas said that the metrics associated with the BC AMTA initiative speak for themselves, and that the organization's vision to create a program that provides skills, training and work experience for aboriginal people in the industry is being duly recognized. The initiative has resulted in the successful transition of 65 per cent of candidates from unemployment to gainful employment; 37 per cent of the candidates are women, and the BC AMTA has an extraordinary 93 per cent retention rate. Those are truly remarkable achievements to be proud of. With 24 per cent of the workforce at New Afton self-identified as aboriginal, it is clear that this initiative has had support at all levels in the company and in the communities.

"You can't help but cheer for them when you hear their story," said Tsolinas. "If New Afton and the B.C. mining community hadn't been progressive and willing to try and build these new industry best practices, then BC AMTA may not have ever come about. They were willing to take that risk and try something new. The result for these First Nations communities is just amazing."

The importance of this new BC Mining HR Diversity Award can be summed up by a quote from Ernst & Young, said Tsolinas.

"In the ever-changing business environment, diverse global teams are crucial for organizations to tackle challenges and opportunities from different perspectives. Diversity encourages intellectual debate, which helps lead to innovation and growth," said Fiona Macfarlane, Ernst & Young's managing partner, British Columbia, and chief inclusiveness officer.

Two other nominees for the award received honourable mentions: Mining Your Future (the TV series) and Goldcorp.

"These three successes are really great examples of people being inspired enough to step out and develop these new industry best practices," said Tsolinas. "The result of taking their idea and making it happen means we now have new leading best practices. I'm really looking forward to being a part of the BC Mining HR Diversity Award again next year because it makes people realize what they can do within their own companies and brings to light initiatives that are going on right now that we may not even know about."

Initiatives by the BC HR Task Force are funded and supported largely through the Canada-B.C. Labour Market Development Agreement.