Mining Industry to Face Serious Hiring Challenges in Coming Decade
Prince George, B.C. – Despite the downturn in the mining industry because of low commodity prices resulting in job layoffs, the industry, right across the country, will be facing a significant hiring challenge over the next decade says a new report from the Mining Industry Human Resources Council.
Just as in other industries, mining is facing challenges posed by the retirement of experienced workers, and from those who will leave that industry for other reasons.
Over the next decade, the report says the rate of workers retiring from the mining industry in Canada will increase from 1.8% to 2.5%. Given the volatile nature of the industry because it is ruled by demand, the report presents three scenarios on how many workers would need to be hired to replace those who are retiring, or leaving the industry for other reasons should the industry slow over the next decade, stay the same, or expand:
Slows 85,723
Stays the same 106,490
Expands 126,590
The report says some of the factors contributing to the hiring pressure are
- job vacancies mismatched with the skills of people who are seeking work
- low levels of labour market participation among groups of potential workers
- complex patterns of educational attainment, skills requirements and unemployment
- a reliance on commuting workers
- lack of mobility among workers in some occupational groups
- older workers retiring
- gaps between the need to hire workers and new entrants to the pool of skilled workers.
While the number of people working in BC’s mining industry in 2014 decreased to 9,954 from 10,720 in 2013, it is estimated that over the next 10 years the mining industry in this province will need to hire nearly 17 thousand new workers.
As has been the case with other industries, the report recommends more effort be made to attract those who are underrepresented in the industry. Women, Aboriginals, and Immigrants all present an opportunity to increase the potential labour pool states the report which adds “An effective strategy to strengthen the labour market must include all diverse groups.”
Comments
Why don’t these companies train the new hires themselves? Many people want to be trained but cannot afford the high cost of training and sometimes end up in something that the demand isn’t there as told by the colleges before hand. This happened to me when I spent over $7000 for a five month course and never got a job out of it.
DPJ at least the instructors got jobs out of it.
Meanwhile Canada’s unemployment rate sits at almost 7%. This article is nothing more than an industry’s justification for the future use of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, a cheap source of slave labour!
Then there is this industry’s well documented international human rights abuses and environmental degradation world wide.
http: //tinyurl.com/m4ubocr
Copy and paste the link to your address bar, then delete the space between the http: and the /
How many times are we going to hear this from different sectors of the work force.. our government is still not doing anything significant when it comes to apprenticeships etc.. Why cant crusty clark realize you must invest in your youth so they can prosper in adulthood ( hint lady… the better the jobs they get the more taxes you get from them)
Clark always talks about the future etc but he future ends at the next election..then its lie to get votes and have possibly another 4 year future to work on getting re-elected.
DPJ makes a great point.. why dont these companies that will need skilled workers step up and get training going? We all know you cant rely on any gov for help.. its 4-5 yrs depending on what trade you are going for..invest in our kids.. will only make us stronger..
Crusty thinks that education funding is expenditure . It is not . It is investment in our collective futures . She showed exactly how that little ,short sighted brain of hers works in tha latest attack on the teaching profession ,our kids and grandkids . This article shows how utterly incompetent these so called liberals really are .
Companies do not provide significant training to new or existing employees because it is a straight up cost which cuts into their margins. This way the investors get what want in the way of ROI because the company maintains profitability.
The industrial model in Canada and BC specifically has turned into a government subsidized environment. That is what TFW’s are about, it is cheaper to import workers on a term contract rather than due any long term planning, preparation and employee development.
I see a lot of comments about the downtrodden and how they are low mooches, well I put to you that big business is just as guilty.
Small business is not normally part of this behaviour because they do not have low friends in high places.
A government funded solution is http://www. workbc.ca/WorkBC/media/WorkBC/Documents/CJG-Fact-Sheet_GCPE_101614-%282%29.pdf
This program is not accessed enough by anyone.
‘This article is nothing more than an industry’s justification for the future use of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, a cheap source of slave labour!’
That is complete crap. The problem is that 20 and 30 somethings don’t want to live in camp, although the camp experience today is more like a high end hotel experience. They expect a high paying job in downtown Vancouver, Kelowna, Kamloops etc., and they expect to be in the comfort of their own bed every night, and then whine when they find out that the only jobs available in those places are at Starbucks.
The Temporary Foreign Workers Program didn’t ‘steal’ work away from self-entitled Canadian slackers. It made available a pool of highly motivated foreign workers that recognize the value of a hard day’s work.
And the claim that foreign workers are a cheap source of ‘slave labour’ is complete loopy-left nonsense – North America was built with immigrant labour and a strong work ethic. It’s the self-entitled fat and happy Canadian slackers that are the problem.
Vor- All I can say is IMO you are so wrong.
What proof do you have oldman, except for the shrill portrayal of the TFWP on the Communist Broadcasting Corporation and other left-leaning media outlets. Do you know of a single Canadian individual that was ‘displaced’ by a temporary foreign worker? Be honest now.
“The federal government is investigating an allegation that several dozen Canadians working in Alberta’s oil patch were laid off this week and replaced with foreign workers.”
http: //business.financialpost.com/news/energy/oil-sands-workers-foreigners-imperial-2014?__lsa=7e13-6d5e
copy and paste the link to your address bar, then delete the space between the http: and the /
Vor-Yes I do. Your last retired MP by the name of Pat Bell said that Canadians do not know anything about long wall mining so they hired TFWs to replace Canadians at the mine north of here when there was over three hundred applications for that type of work and not one of the applications was looked at. The applicants were qualified and this was looked at after the union became involved.
More examples of Temporary Foreign Worker Program abuse. There is absolutely no substitution for greed, where a company can make more of a profit off cheap foreign slave labour than more expensive Canadian labour.
It a race to the bottom when it comes to sourcing cheap labour folks!!!
www. edmontonsun.com/2015/01/15/edmonton-ironworkers-claim-jobs-given-to-temporary-foreign-workers
copy and paste the link to your address bar, then delete the space between the www. and the e
Vor — And by the way I hope you take the time to look at Sophic Sages Link to TFWs instead of more BS.
This story screams of a cry from the mining industry for a need to bring in more TFW’s.
The mining industry better start paying to train replacement Canadian workers to fill the possible shortage and don’t even think the tax payers of this country should pay for it.
That’s right dumbfounded . That’s what royalties are about . So why have we got the lowest royalties in the world ? And at the same time not funding funding our schools properly . Get the connections Chrissy. Only in canada .
I don’t suppose half of you had issues with a TFW serving your coffee or changing your hotel linens at some point in the last couple years..this is nothing new for the mining industry except now there is a visible minority which is brought in.. No one has batted an eye over the last 100 years of German, Polish, Australian, Italian or UK miners in the province..all of which work underground jobs.. So now some Chinese miners are coming in and now there is a problem..? You guys are an embarrassment..
Actually northman, if you read my comments you would realize that Canadian workers are being “replaced” by cheaper (less costly) temporary foreign workers, nowhere in your comment do you acknowledge that fact… and yet you call us an embarrassment?
Let’s find out if we have enough of a labour pool to meet the mining industry’s future demand of 17 thousand workers, without resorting to using the TFWP. Canada’s current population is approximately 36 million, however, not everyone is eligible or capable of working, so let’s go with half the population in Canada are a capable workforce (18 million people). With an unemployment rate now at around 7% that would mean 18 million x 7% = 1, 260,000 Canadians unemployed. Wow… lots of available labour the mining industry can train for the 17 thousand jobs they are expecting to become available.
No need for a Temporary Foreign Worker Program with an unemployed labour supply that large, now is there?
The gov’t needs to implement a training requirement for Canadian apprentices against any company that want to hire TFWs. For every foreign trade worker, they need to hire a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th yr Canadian apprentice. (1:4). The companies say they can’t hire a Canadian to fill their journeyman positions but for an apprentice, they can’t find anyone willing to train them.
No Sopic Sage. I don’t read your comments as most of it is left wing drivvle backed up with endless links of further drivel..so tell me about your ambitions to be a longwall miner..
northman; I linked to the Financial Post and the Edmonton Sun, if those are sources of further left wing drivel, by your definition, what would be right wing sources of drivel?
IMO, we don’t need a government that allows companies to lay-off Canadian workers just so they can turn around and employ cheap foreign workers to increase their profit margins. This is just one reason why we need to heave Steve on October 19th.
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