JUNE 2011
Exciting time for the MiHR Council and for mining in Canada
The past few weeks has marked an exciting time at the MiHR Council. Our May 24th national certification event was an incredible success and marked a milestone accomplishment for mining workers in Canada. It was an evening of pride, celebration and partnership with growing excitement for the future expansion of the program.
In addition to this historic event, the Council is also celebrating several awards. Increased media attention is putting the mining skills shortage in the spotlight as the Council continues to work alongside our industry partners across Canada to develop workable solutions to our HR challenges. The event highlights are captured in the following articles.
What a night! National certification recognition event brings together participants from across the country to celebrate
On May 24th at the CIM Conference and Exhibition in Montreal, MiHR hosted a reception to celebrate the recognition of Canada's first, nationally certified underground miners, surface miners and minerals processing operators.
The event brought together pilot participants and workplace assessors from eight different mines across the country; together, the group represented a selection of the inaugural group of 95 workers who received certification under the Canadian Mining Credentials Program.
Among them, the first certified female underground miner (Maureen Monkman, Diavik Diamond Mine) and minerals processing operator (Kim Heyland, Teck Resources Limited, Highland Valley Copper). 
The group of about 250 people, which included participants from industry, spouses, friends and family, viewed the debut of MiHR's certification video which features an overview of the certification process, interviews with participants and industry leaders along with footage from pilot site celebrations. Click here to watch the video.
All those in attendance could feel the sense of pride brought about by this historic step in developing the mining industry workforce across Canada. Congratulations to all newly certified miners and minerals processors!
Click the following links to view media coverage relating to this event and/or pilot site local events:
The Canadian Mining Journal, Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal,
Kamloops This Week, The Sudbury Star, Northern Life
About certification
It can take several years to develop a skilled worker for the mining industry. These skills and years of experience can now be documented and recognized through national certification via the Canadian Mining Credentials Program (CMCP), developed by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR).
The certification program was six years in development and is based on industry-defined standards. To date, it includes National Occupational Standards developed for four key mining occupations: Underground Hard Rock Miner, Surface Miner, Minerals Processing Operator and Diamond Driller. These four Standards form the basis for the program's certification criteria.
During the program's pilot, the skills and experience of participants were assessed by a trained workplace assessor and documented using a skills passport. The passport not only verifies the skills of an individual for the benefit of current and future employers, but also enables workers to plan their career development.
Certification will play an important role in increasing and retaining the valuable skills needed to sustain the mining industry. MiHR's research estimates that between now and 2020, the industry will require approximately 100,000 workers to support growth and replace retirees. Approximately 20 per cent of these new hires will be needed for skilled occupations such as production miners, development miners, heavy equipment operators, and mill operators. Until now, these occupations have lacked a national recognition system. This factor has hindered recruitment and advancement within the industry because skilled employees have had no formal documentation of their experience, which may prompt them to leave positions and seek opportunities elsewhere. A recent MiHR survey has shown industry turnover in these occupations to be twice as high as in other mining sector jobs.
The CMCP certification program was piloted at eight mine sites across Canada in 2010:
• Xstrata Zinc's Brunswick Mine in Bathurst, New Brunswick
• Cementation, at Totten Mine in Sudbury Ontario and Trout Lake and 777 Mines in Manitoba
• Rio Tinto, Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories
• Teck Coal's Greenhills Operation in British Columbia
• Northgate Minerals Corp. at the Kemess South Mine, British Columbia
• Teck Resources - Highland Valley Copper, British Columbia
For more detailed information on the certification program, click here for the reception event press release, www.miningcredentials.ca, or email certification@mihr.ca.
MiHR's Barbara Kirby and Teck Resources Limited's Jim Utley receive the Canadian Institute of Mining Distinguished Lecturer Award
At the CIM Conference Awards Gala held in Montreal on May 23, the mining industry recognized the achievements of two mining industry members as they received the CIM Distinguished Lecturer Award for "... their leadership and outstanding contributions in the development of the Canadian mining industry's first national worker certification program for underground miners, open pit miners and minerals processing operators."
CIM Distinguished Lecturers are chosen on the basis of their accomplishments in scientific, technical, management or educational activities related to the minerals industry, and speak at CIM Branch meetings across the country.
Development of mining worker certification, as part of the Canadian Mining Credentials Program, began six years ago in direct response to a need for skills recognition and mobility of the mining workforce. Jim Utley, vice president, human resources for Teck Resources Limited and Co-Chair of the CMCP Steering Committee and Barbara Kirby, senior director, workforce development, MiHR, led the program since its inception and their joint Distinguished Lecturer award reflects their achievements in bringing this program to the mining industry.
As Distinguished Lecturers, Kirby and Utley will present on the Canadian Mining Credentials Program and the importance of a nationally-recognized skills recognition and certification program for the mining industry. The latest research report distributed by MiHR estimates that between now and 2020 the industry will need to hire approximately 100,000 workers to both support growth in the industry and replace retiring workers.
The Lecture series will also touch on the complex collaborative effort required to bring this program to fruition, key observations from the pilot sites and why the program forms an essential part of the industry strategy to address the looming labour shortage. The credentials program will not only positively impact the dynamics of worker mobility and recognition, but will now form the basis for certifying other unrecognized occupations, as prioritized by industry.
On behalf of everyone at MiHR, congratulations to both Barb and Jim!
CIM Distinguished Lecturers can be booked through the CIM website www.cim.org.
MiHR's executive director receives the CIM Bedford Canadian Young Mining Leaders Award
The MiHR Council celebrated its second award of the evening on May 23 at the Canadian Institute of Mining National Conference & Exhibition as the leadership and achievements of their executive director, Ryan Montpellier, was formally recognized through the CIM Bedford Canadian Young Mining Leaders Award.
The CIM-Bedford Canadian Young Mining Leaders Awards encourage and accelerate the development of leadership in Canadian mining by recognizing outstanding achievement and the potential of young Canadian mining leaders from around the world. They recognize workers 39 years of age or less for exceptional achievement, as well as their potential for future leadership growth in various sectors of mining, including corporate performance, operations, finance, technical services and innovation, marketing and services.
Montpellier, who joined the Council in 2004 in the capacity of director of operations, played an active role in all aspects of MiHR's strategic operations, making him a natural fit for the executive director role that he accepted in 2008. Since then he has guided MiHR through several key milestones, including the launch of Explore for More, a career brand for industry, the Mining Industry Workforce Information Network (MIWIN) and the Canadian Mining Credentials Program. He is regularly sought out as a subject matter expert on the mining skills shortage by media and industry.
Montpellier is proud to be recognized by the mining industry through this award. "To be nominated for an award like this was incredible, winning it is something else. The work we do at the Council is so vital to address the skills shortage, and we are guided by a strong and supportive Board who I would like to thank in helping me lead the organization to where we see it today."
Congratulations to Ryan on this incredible achievement!
Custom labour market report for Saskatchewan released May 31
MiHR and the Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) have partnered to produce a labour market forecast for the mining industry in Saskatchewan. This report was released on May 31, during Saskatchewan Mining Week and represents a follow up to the 2008 report MiHR and the SMA had previously partnered on.
The new report incorporates updates on the global economic situation and its impacts on the province's mining workforce, as well as a number of new forecast features. Hiring requirements forecasts are created using a measure of labour productivity and a Saskatchewan specific minerals price index—created distinctly to reflect the unique commodity mix in the Saskatchewan mining sector. This report also includes the first MiHR forecast of labour supply or available talent for the province's mining industry. The report finishes with a gap analysis and discussion of possible solutions. These are exciting new developments for MiHR's Mining Industry Workforce Information Network (MIWIN) and will be rolled out for the rest of Canada in future national labour market forecasts.
As part of the input and development of the report, MiHR and the SMA conducted surveys, focus groups, and interviews with industry stakeholders. These sessions brought together SMA members, government officials and officials from the universities and colleges in Saskatchewan to review forecast results and discuss potential solutions to the gap between the industry's future hiring requirements and talent availability. For more information on the report, please contact research@mihr.ca or saskmining@sasktel.net.
Click here to read the report.
The publication of this report, in tandem with other ongoing research activities MiHR is conducting in Saskatchewan, has generated substantial media attention about the looming skills shortage:
Labour and mining: Preparing to bridge the gap (The StarPhoenix, Saskatoon)
Mining faces talent gap (Regina Leader-Post)
Saskatchewan mining expects labour shortfall (The StarPhoenix, Saskatoon)
Saskatchewan mining week kicks off (News Talk 650 CKOM)
Mining: Big money, big risks (Regina Leader-Post)
Booming mining industry (News Talk 980 CJME, John Gormley Live)
