Shaping Canada’s Mining Workforce Through Wage Subsidy Programs
Written by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council
Mining is a high-tech, constantly evolving industry that requires a highly skilled workforce. We need mining to build a safer, greener, and more connected world – and a workforce to move the industry forward into the 21st Century.
A skilled workforce is clearly vital to mining’s sustainability and growth. Yet mining faces a tight labour market. Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) data shows that the unemployment rate in mining is historically low, with labour shortages further challenged by an aging workforce, negative youth perceptions of mining careers and a decline in enrolments into post-secondary mining programs. Along with the longer-term rise in demand for minerals and metals, as Canada transitions to a clean economy, will only compound labour shortages.
As a result, the mining industry is faced with unique challenges for learning and skills development needs and recognizes the critical importance of work placement opportunities as a component of effective skills development and the development of a highly skilled and competent workforce.
To address these unique challenges, MiHR offers three wage subsidy programs in benefit of job-ready youth, post-secondary students, workers, and employers.
The Canadian Mining Work Placement program: Solutions to meet forecasted mining labour demand
MiHR recently developed the Canadian Mining Work Placement Program (CMWP) to provide wage subsidies to hiring organizations who offer meaningful work placements that support a productive, safe, and highly skilled supply of labour. The CMWP enables participants to practice their newly acquired skills and competencies from recent and relevant training and provides them the opportunity to work towards obtaining certification under MiHR’s Canadian Mining Certification Program (CMCP).
Subsidies up to 70 per cent of a participant’s wage to a maximum of $15,000 are available to hiring organizations and contractors who provide work placements in support, operation, and production level positions to newly trained talent or existing workers to upskill and explore advancement in new careers.
Gearing Up: Developing mining talent through post-secondary work-integrated learning
To help shape the next generation of Canada’s mining workforce, the Government of Canada provided MiHR over $12 million in funding over the past five years through Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Student Work Placement Program for the Gearing Up project, which helps ensure the mining sector’s sustainability and competitiveness by creating work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for post-secondary students. Mining employers who create new WIL opportunities for students enrolled in STEM or business programs are offered a wage subsidy of up to $7,000. Over 2,000 WIL opportunities have been created through Gearing Up, and can include co-ops, internships, field placements, applied projects, capstone projects and case competitions.
Green Jobs: Helping job-ready youth gain meaningful mining work experience
Natural Resources Canada announced in June 2023 that it renewed the Science and Technology Internship Program—Green jobs (STIP-Green jobs) for $31.2M over the next two years to create 960 green jobs for youth. STIP-Green Jobs is part of the broader Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) that supports youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment, gain the skills and work experience they need to make a successful transition into the labour market.
Through this renewal, MiHR was provided $2 million in funding support to extend its Green Jobs program to March 31, 2025. The extension will help mining employers access 80 wage subsidies to enable job-ready youth to gain meaningful work experience in mining through paid placements that focus on clean technology and innovation. This comes following the completion of a two-year agreement in which MiHR successfully distributed wages subsidies to over 50 Green Jobs participants.
This funding enables employers across Canada, including remote and Northern communities, to provide youth with work experience and skills training opportunities that contribute to positive environmental outcomes. Green Jobs also helps shape the next generation of Canada’s mining workers as employers can leverage talent for future recruitment needs and participants gain valuable paid work experience that will help take their career to the next level.
Take advantage of a wage subsidy today
MiHR’s wage subsidy programs help recruit, retain, and develop the workforce by enabling mining employers to provide work opportunities to build competency in new talent, allow workers to practice newly acquired skills on the job, and expand the skilled labour pool for industry to meet labour demands.
Interested organizations and participants can access MiHR’s complete wage subsidy program information, eligibility criteria and application forms at https://mihr.ca/wage-subsidy-programs/. For more information contact wagesubsidies@mihr.ca.