Labour shortage: Doubling down on workplace training in Canada’s mining sector

In late 2022, as Canadian interest rates roared, businesses across the country suffered. Justifying his decision to raise rates, Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, cited weak labour pools and a high risk of rapid wage inflation. He followed his rate hike announcement with a clear message to businesses across the country: “If you are not happy with high interest rates, do more to increase the labour force.”

Across the country, and in Canada’s mining sector, companies have long relied on a robust network of post-secondary institutions to churn out job-ready professionals. As employers shifted the responsibility (and cost) of training to colleges and universities, employer spending on training and education plummeted.

Over the last two decades, training and education investment by employers declined by approximately 40%. In Canada, the amount spent on training was a meager $240 per employee. Less than all our G7 peers in dollars spent and by hours of instruction.

Unfortunately, as enrollment rates in mining and mineral programs plummet, trips to college and university career fairs are likely to be less and less fruitful. Though I am sure the students will still enjoy the free pens at the information tables.

Today, a tight labour market has made filling mining jobs harder than ever. Headhunting has become widespread, negotiations have gotten more complex, and as the industry is experiencing a wave of retirements, there is no end in sight.

To fill skills gaps, Canadian miners will need to take on the role of educator. As the need for specialization and technological literacy in the mining process increases, employer investment in training and education will be critical.

So, what can be done?

For years, training and education programs in Canada’s mining organizations have been targeted based on short term needs, with an eye on immediate return on investment. Miners should look at developing long term education strategies. Instead of focusing solely on immediate needs, miners will need to forecast talent demands, and develop training and education strategies accordingly.

Some miners have already seen the writing on the wall and have begun developing formalized training programs to fill skills gaps. Unfortunately, a disproportionate amount of training investment still goes to managers and high-level professionals.

Investment in employees should be spread more evenly throughout the organization. Many organizations have intentionally avoided investing in junior employee, out of fear that their investment would be lost if the employee left the company.

Instead, mining organizations should view training and education as a retention strategy. As studies suggest that when employers invest in training their employees, workplace satisfaction and employee loyalty increases.

In other cases, though training programs are offered, and education rebates are made available, employees are unable to take advantage of the opportunities. In fact, 34% of employees cited “being too busy at work” as the top reason for not attending training and education programs offered by their employers. To combat this, miners should view training as a critical investment and schedule time so that workers can take advantage of training programs offered.

Finally, more robust onboarding programs should be developed with a view to the communities and industries miners will be pulling talent from.

Some miners are looking at comprehensive training programs to up-skill members of local communities. A win-win for miners as they shore up their talent pools while they develop better relations with the communities they operate in.

Onboarding programs to accommodate workers from outside the industry will also be critical. Some organizations have begun looking to forestry, and oil and gas for workers with transferable skills. Though initial investment will be necessary to ensure workers have the necessary industry knowledge. Companies that develop training strategies to bring outsiders up to speed with will enjoy wider talent pools to pull from.

While many Canadian miners have already began developing more formalized training programs or are looking at increasing their training and education budgets, more work must be done. With Canada’s mining industry expecting 80,000 jobs to go unfilled by 2030, employer training and education must be viewed as a means of industry self-preservation.

Danny Parys is a senior consultant at Calross Consulting, a recruitment and HR consulting firm that specializes in the Mining and Metals sector..

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