The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) launched the Canadian Mining Industry Employment and Hiring Forecasts 2010 study in an effort to forecast the mining industry’s human resource needs as the wave of baby boomers reaches retirement.
Developed under MiHR’s Mining Workforce Information Network, regional forecasts of employment and hiring requirements were conducted for the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie provinces, British Columbia and the Territories.
The study provides an economic overview and examines labour market trends affecting the industry. It presents the forecast changes in employment and hiring requirements at national, regional and occupational levels over a two-, five-, and 10-year horizon.
Demographics show that in five years, one-third of the current mining workforce will be eligible to retire. The retirement wave will create a serious knowledge gap and result in vacancies for which there is an insufficient supply of younger workers with the necessary skills.
The report predicts that a staggering number of new workers will be required within the Canadian mining industry by 2020. The study predicted a shortfall of 56,000 to 135,000 workers, depending on the impact of the economy on the mining industry. Even if the industry contracts, there will still be a shortage of 56,000 workers.
“It is important to note that in the expansionary scenario, which is the one that we feel is the most probable, the estimate of (135,000) is very conservative,” said Ryan Montpellier, MiHR's executive director.
The expansionary scenario assumes moderate growth of 0.5 per cent a year, but “if we go through another expansionary phase like the previous one (from 2000 to 2007), these numbers are completely underestimated and the challenge becomes that much more important.”
Occupations facing the most significant hiring needs are heavy equipment operators, underground and surface miners, skilled trades and professionals such as geoscientists and engineers.
Several labour market trends impacting availability and quality of labour in mining are the aging workforce, productivity and challenges in attracting new talent.
With 59.5 years as the average retirement age in mining, it is anticipated there will be a loss of experienced workers and corporate knowledge, resulting in gaps in management and leadership.
Recognizing the important role mature employees play in the industry, employers are making additional efforts to increase mature workers' participation rates. This may include altering pension and retirement benefits, enhancing working conditions with flex or part-time hours and vacation allotments,
and adding medical or other benefits to address the needs of the older workforce.
Increasing productivity was also recognized as an area that needed to be addressed. With fewer people available to do the work, companies will have to rely more on technological changes to improve output, as well as increase investments in skilled labour, professional development and capital.
Developing new or improved managerial practices, enhancing working conditions and adopting innovative approaches to work may also have to be considered in order to remain competitive.
A key requirement for recruiters will be diversifying the workforce by targeting women, Aboriginals and immigrants. Women continue to have low representation in mining, with the majority of positions being clerical.
Aboriginals account for 6.75 per cent of employment in the mining industry, making the industry the largest private-sector employer of Aboriginal people in Canada. First Nation participation rates have increased 40 per cent from 2001, thanks in part to more than 120 agreements between Aboriginal
communities and mining companies. Statistics Canada 2006 figures show new Canadians (immigrants) make up 8.7 per cent of the mining workforce.
Fluctuating commodity prices present challenges in workforce planning.
Montpellier said the industry doesn't always take a long-term view and that it is important to manage the workforce more strategically by investing in the next generation of workers in good and bad times.
MiHR recently received $1 million in funding for a project to study counter-cyclical workforce planning to try to understand how to better manage a workforce subject to the feast or famine hiring practices dictated by cyclical markets.
Many mining companies are aware of the challenges and are making more efforts to promote and educate youth to try and dispel the myth that mining is a dirty, low-skilled, labour intensive industry.
“Industry needs to continue to work at positioning what modern mining is about,” Montpellier said. “It is high tech and pays 66 per cent higher wages than all other Canadian industries.”
As the demand for skilled workers grows, Montpellier sees the role of HR becoming strategic to the industry’s sustainability. “If we can't find the right people to do the jobs, the mines will not be operational and we can't expand.”
