BY KEITH LACEY
Thanks to a new partnership agreement, mining students in Thunder Bay and Haileybury will soon be able to access education and training opportunities here in Greater Sudbury and vice versa.
Cambrian College and Northern College, which operates the Haileybury School of Mines and several other campuses across northeast Ontario, are the founding partners in a new initiative to develop a Federated School of Mines for Northern Ontario.
Other partners who signed a Memorandum of Agreement for a new Federated School of Mines Friday include Confederation College from Thunder Bay, Canadore College in North Bay, and College Boreal and Laurentian University.
The provincial government?s mining cluster leaders have bandied about discussion on this collaborative approach to training and education across northeastern Ontario for several years.
Discussion among post-secondary management at the various schools over the past couple of years has resulted in this historic agreement, said Cambrian president Sylvia Barnard.
Leaders from all of the post-secondary institutions involved participated in a videoconference and memorandum agreement signing Friday. The videoconference was based out of Cambrian?s e-Dome.
This agreement will encourage a co-operative working relationship among all of the schools and the mining sector, said Barnard. The agreement will facilitate student access to education in the mining and minerals industry and allow these schools to respond to labour force and training needs, said
Barnard.
?One of the key issues...has been accessing training and educational opportunities for employees in the mining industry...and for those young people entering the industry,? she said.
Once details are finalized, a student in Haileybury, Timmins or Thunder Bay could access training and curriculum being offered at Laurentian, College Boreal or Cambrian, said Barnard.
The federal and provincial governments have acknowledged a distinct shortage of skilled labour in many industries, including mining, and believe the problem will only get worse, said Barnard.
Co-operative working agreements like this can only help attract young people to the industry and provide the necessary educational and training requirements needed for the mining industry to remain vibrant, said Barnard.
One of the biggest benefits of this new working relationship will be the sharing of expertise, curriculum and institutional resources and strengths, said Michael Hill, president of the Haileybury School of Mines.
?It might be a cliche, but the whole in this case is much greater than the sum of its parts,? he said.
As part of the deal, employees working in the mining industry will be able to access upgrading and training in various mining capacities at any of the six institutions, said Hill.
Ultimately, the goal is to attract people to Northern Ontario, strengthen the communities involved through access to education and training, encourage students and employees to remain in this part of the province and assist the mining industry in meeting educational and training needs, said Barnard.
There?s power in numbers and leaders in this new Federated School of Mines will be able to work with government, Aboriginal leaders and other academic institutions to address key educational and training concerns for the mining industry for decades to come, said Hill.
Barnard said all of the partners from the various schools should be applauded for showing a willingness to work together in a collaborative effort to ensure Northern Ontario becomes the destination of choice for educational and career opportunities in the mining industry.
?Through an educated workforce, our communities will continue to grow and prosper,? she said.
Pat Lang, president of Confederation College, said technology will allow mining students and employees across the north to access crucial training and information, which will only benefit an industry crucial to economic prosperity across Northern Ontario.
?This really is a special day and historic occasion,? she said.
