Abstract

Mine employers in Canada are facing acute pressure to recruit, train and retain skilled underground workers. Employers are increasingly relying on on-site training and micro-credentialing to meet labour demand, which is anticipated to be compounded as more in development and operational mines identify deeper deposits and transition from open pit to underground.

To find a solution to this critical gap in highly trained and skilled underground miners, the B.C. Centre of Training Excellence in Mining (CTEM) and the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) created underground miner training in collaboration with industry, post-secondary training providers, Indigenous representatives and local communities. As underground mining differs based on commodity, extraction method, jurisdiction and locality, it was necessary to align the training with the National Occupational Standard (NOS) for Underground Miner – which identify training objectives and outcomes for fully competent workers in Canada – and to respect site and provincial/territorial-specific needs.

This panel presentation will focus on two case studies of employers that met underground miner hiring needs through this partnership-based training model. The NOS foundation of the training will be explored as well as how employers identified baseline skills required to work safely as an underground miner, recognized transferable skills, and designed and developed applicable, site-specific training.

The training was delivered through three modules: provincial/territorial theory and baseline common competencies, site-specific theory, and hands-on equipment training. Upon completion, students were provided a six-month work-integrated learning placement to practice their newly acquired skills in an operating mine. All training, skills and work experience was documented in MiHR’s National Skills Registry aligned with the NOS, thereby providing the students with a skills development pathway that identifies the skills and competencies associated with the occupation and the skills requirements to achieve certification through MiHR’s Canadian Mining Certification Program (CMCP).

This presentation will also provide partner perspectives on the strengths and challenges of, and their learnings with, the training model. Participants to-date gave the training model a ‘very good’ (20%) to ‘excellent’ (80%) rating.