Faltering Interest In Mining Careers Nothing More Effective PR Can't Fix, Per Canadian Minerals Industry

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Finding enough young talent to support the mining industry is a “nearly existential challenge,” according to a recent survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The industry has a complex talent problem that could have a big impact on profitability and production over the next decade, according to the multinational accounting firm.

One of the reasons people aren’t choosing mining as a career is its poor reputation, Ryan Montpellier, executive director at the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, told The Narwhal. The council is an independent non-profit that works with mining and exploration companies, organized labour, educational institutes and industry associations to address labour challenges in the Canadian minerals and metals industry. In 2020 and 2023, the council hired Abacus Data to survey 15- to 30-year-olds in Canada about their perceptions of careers in mining.

The survey painted somewhat of a bleak picture: mining was viewed as a good-paying job with benefits, but it was also seen as dirty, dangerous and physically demanding. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said they definitely wouldn’t or probably wouldn’t work in mining. However, survey results also showed a slight increase in those considering the sector, rising from 31 per cent of respondents in 2020 up to 34 per cent in 2023. For Montpellier, it’s a communication and perception challenge. “The industry really is a safe sector,” he said. “It is doing a ton of work in the area of sustainability and in the area of responsible mining.”

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Conversations about mining pollution and the climate crisis come up often with the younger generations, Montpellier said, including with his own kids. He tells them being part of the industry is where you can have the “biggest impact on the environment you could possibly imagine.” He points to increasing the supply of minerals used to make things like batteries and solar panels, Canada’s domestic environmental mining record and the opportunity to design and build mines in a sustainable way.

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https://thenarwhal.ca/mining-young-people-recruitment/