When Philippe Garneau graduated from McGill University, he was part of an elite group of nine students whose career prospects were about as good as they can get. Garneau and his classmates are mining engineers — a discipline that is becoming as sought after a commodity as precious metals.

Philippe Garneau, an engineer in training for Teck Cominco Ltd., reviews mining data at the company's Highland Valley Copper operations in Logan Lake, B.C.

"All of us pretty much got to choose the jobs we wanted from the ones we interviewed for," says 26-year-old Garneau, who is now an engineer in training for Teck Cominco Limited's Highland Valley Copper operations in Logan Lake, B.C.

After years of being in a funk, the mining industry is booming — as is the demand for skilled labour resources. The problem is that supply is tracking far below projected demand, which has industry observers concerned. While labour shortages have been plaguing virtually every industry sector, mining is being hit harder than most.

For one thing, demographics are working against it. According to Statistics Canada, the age of the minerals and metals industry workforce is higher than that of the overall Canadian workforce. The largest age group in the sector is 40 to 54 years old, which represents more than 50 per cent of all workers in mining. This is far above the Canadian average of 39 per cent 40-to-54-year-olds in other business sectors.

Plus, about 40 per cent of employees in the mining industry are expected to retire over the next decade.

"That's a huge amount of expertise leaving the sector," says Paul Hébert, executive director of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council in Ottawa.

Lingering economic effects

Economics has also contributed to a huge generation gap that decimated the "middle" generation population. An industry downturn over the past two decades in the mining and minerals sector led companies to start downsizing, and skilled labourers to take early retirement.

But the current demand for people with the necessary skills is drawing some back to the mining industry.

Ray Brown, a welder and supervisor who spent more than 25 years working in the mining industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, is one example. He accepted an early retirement package during the downturn a few years ago, but last year he was one of many early retirees to rejoin the trade, and now works with equipment supplier Transwest Mining Systems in Fort McMurray, Alberta. "There are a lot of people my age getting back into it. That's because there just aren't enough young people getting into the trades and engineering."

Teck Cominco Ltd. engineer Philippe Garneau (left) reviews part of the company's Highland Valley Copper site in Logan Lake, B.C.

Jonathan Leebosh, senior associate with Egan LLP, Ernst & Young's Calgary allied law firm, says the "generation gap" carries more implications than simply a skills shortage that can be filled by new graduates. "You can't just take someone fresh out of school and put them on a site. They need experience and training."

The third factor is the stiff competition from other sectors such as oil and gas and utilities. And competition is not just coming from Canada. Mining operations in Australia and Europe are also aggressively pursuing North American talent.

No quick fix

If these trends continue, the difficulty for Canadian companies trying to find qualified workers will only get worse, experts predict. The Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council (MITAC) estimates that a total of 13,800 students will enrol in mining-related university program over the next decade. Even after these are hired, however, the sector will still need to fill more than 7,081 positions a year, creating a potential labour shortage in Canada of about 70,810 workers.

A major hurdle in attracting talent, says Patricia Dillon, manager of business and government relations for Teck Cominco Ltd. in Vancouver, is the misconception that mining is a dirty, dangerous business.

"Some images just don't die — it drives me nuts," she says. "People don't realize that we're one of the highest users of technology and one of the highest-paying sectors. It's also a career that can have a positive impact on community and social structures, sustainable livelihoods and economic well being."

Bumping up the employment ranks will take a combination of training, immigration, marketing on the part of educational institutions and associations, and a concerted effort to draw underrepresented groups such as women and Aboriginals.

The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada has been working on creative ways to mentor and attract students to mining engineering, including seminar programs, nationwide "mining games" competitions and field trips.

"We got a wake-up call about six years ago," says Malcolm Scoble, professor and department head at the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia.

"We produced a CD, did more outreach, put news articles out. The numbers of intake undergraduates went up remarkably, and we've just raised our quota to 40 new students a year. When you look at some other mining schools, often there are only half a dozen students in the graduating classes."

Al Shefsky, president of Pele Mountain Resources in Toronto, spends a good part of his working hours in Northern Ontario speaking to youth groups and meeting with tribal councils. "We need to get the message out that there are so many opportunities in exploration and development, and get kids excited about it."

"Governments also need to focus their immigration policies to increase the foreign student population," says Egan LLP's Leebosh. "Addressing a long-term labour shortage starts by ensuring a solid foreign student population."

Hebert stresses that it's not all about engineering skills.

"The industry hires more than just graduates of mining programs," he says. "They hire accountants, lawyers, foodservice, health and safety specialists. Finding the talent is truly a huge challenge. But it's also a huge opportunity for Canadians and others."

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