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Jobs of the Future: Plugging holes in mining labour shortages

Mining Potential, offered by Collège Boréal, aims to address labour shortages with women, youth and new Canadians
College Boréal
Collège Boréal in Sudbury.

Labour shortages in the mining industry could be filled by attracting more women, young people and immigrants to the field, and that is exactly the focus of Collège Boréal’s Mining Potential program.

Aimed specifically at training women, youth and newcomers, Mining Potential is a 14-week work readiness skills training program that includes a 165-hour interactive instructor-led theory component as well as 120 hours of enrichment activities. The program is offered at the college’s Sudbury and Timmins campuses.

“The workforce requires more workers in the skilled trades. I am thrilled that Collège Boréal’s mining industry training expertise will help fill this shortage," said Julie Nadeau, director of business development at Collège Boréal. “On a personal note, I take pride in knowing that this affordable and accessible program aims to help women, youth and newcomers enter the mining industry, a profitable and solid sector that is thriving in Northern Ontario.”

Developed by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), the Mining Potential program “aims to engage and empower women, youth and newcomers by exposing them to the mining sector through learning experiences, making them ready to enter the work force,” the college states.

Boréal said the curriculum for Mining Potential was created to provide case studies, documents and standards validated by the industry. Graduates will obtain a certificate of achievement from MiHR and Collège Boréal, as well as Collège Boréal certificates such as WHMIS, CPR, Working at Heights and Service Type Common Core.

Boréal said Northern Ontario is particularly hard hit by labour shortages in the mineral and metals sector. For more information on the program, visit the Collège Boréal website.