MINING INDUSTRY | Career Opportunities
Canada is one of the leading mining countries and one of the largest producers of minerals and metals. Canada has long been the dominant global mining nation—in mineral production, mining finance, mining services and supplies, and sustainability and safety. While mining is important to Canada at the local community level, it also contributes to the economies of large cities. With mineral exploration and mining playing critical roles in the move towards a low carbon future, the need to support one of the Canada’s most significant sectors is more important now than ever before.
The industry directly employs 409,000 workers across the country in mineral extraction, smelting, fabrication and manufacturing, and indirectly employs an additional 217,000 people. Proportionally, the mining industry is also the largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples, providing over 16,500 jobs. In 2018, the minerals sector directly and indirectly contributed $97 billion, or 5%, to Canada’s total nominal GDP. The average annual pay for a mining worker in 2018 exceeded $123,000, which surpassed the average annual earnings of workers in the forestry, manufacturing, finance and construction sectors respectively. The mining industry accounts for 1 in
every 30 jobs in Canada.
The mining industry employs people across a broad range of areas from unskilled labour to mining engineers with prospects in administrative roles, human resources and management positions. There are numerous trades related opportunities such as trades assistant, boilermakers, carpenters, welders, electricians, and plumbers. The mining jobs are achievable, very competitive, and the HR managers do receive over a thousand resumes for an advertised vacancy. It is important that you have your resume appropriately worded and designed to stand out from other applicants. It is essential to get the important keywords in your resume which
will give you the best chance of getting one of these jobs. Presenting a
polished document reflects your efforts and that you are serious about the job
at hand.
You might be interested to know what kind of entry level jobs
are available in the mining industry that don’t require a trade qualification.
Both men and women are sought after by mining companies which offer jobs like
cleaner, trades assistant, service crew, catering, kitchen hand, utilities, and
laundry work. These jobs would require previous experience in areas of
cleaning, catering and/or hospitality but do not ask for experience of
previously working on a mine site. Key attributes that the companies are
looking for include understanding and commitment to workplace safety, a
willingness to travel or be away from home for extended periods of time, an
ability to complete additional courses and training as required, a strong work
ethic and readiness to work 12-hour shifts, flexible and adaptable approach to
work, capacity to work unsupervised and as a part of a team, being punctual, a
high level of physical fitness, and open to alcohol and drug testing as all
mine sites are focused on a ensuring safety and workers cannot be under
influence of any of these substances on site.
Wondering where to find these jobs? The opportunities would be advertised on the careers page of all major mining companies. 
You can also search of relevant jobs through a Google search for jobs in mining industry using keywords such as dump truck – which would list out opportunities for dump truck driving for mining companies in your area. If you want to work in resources, it pays off to be
resourceful. A great way to start is by looking for jobs in mining sector that
related somehow to what you are doing now. Many skills and qualifications are
transferable from other industries to mining. Mines need engineers, plumbers,
electricians, welders, mechanics, IT personnel, medical staff, logistics
experts, heavy vehicle drivers. Even if you don’t have any skills or experience
that relate to mining industry, there are still loads of entry-level position
for you to choose from. The possible options include drillers’ offsiders,
administrative assistants, cooks, maintenance staff, childcare workers, general
labour and many of these positions do not need any experience.
The best way to get those jobs is to move to a mining town and live there, register with all the labour hire companies. Trades people like fitters, welders, boilermakers and electricians have a good chance of picking up work on a mining site. If you don’t have a trade, start by doing a rigging or scaffolding course which would give you a good chance of getting a job. The courses are only about four weeks long but may be expensive. Talking to people who are currently working on the mining sites can be a big help. You need to be fit and ready for physical labour, the work will be very repetitive, and routine based with long 12-hour days, so you need to be mentally prepared as well. Once you have proved yourself to be a reliable worker your wages should increase dramatically.
To do certain mining jobs you will need to get licenses and training or tickets as they are more commonly known. There are various types of tickets based on what work you would like to do. The tickets could also be different according to location of the mine site and needs thorough research before investing money. The jobs are becoming gender neutral and more women are seen to be applying for mining jobs. In some cases, companies even prefer women for certain job like driving the dump truck because they are easier on the equipment and yet get the job done.
As millennials are starting to carve out their own career path, they should not overlook the mining industry. There are 79,680 positions that will need to be filled in the mining field over the next decade, said The Mining Association of Canada in its annual report published in January 2020. This workforce shortage is compounded by the wave of the industry’s skilled core of workers who are retiring. By 2030, MiHR forecasts that more than 57,000 employees will retire from the sector, which represents over 25% of the industry’s current workforce by MiHR definitions. Workers will be needed for all core mining positions, including geologists, geoscientists, metallurgists, mining engineers and people who know their way around heavy equipment operation, computer technology, and information management.
Sources & References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY9MZhaS_RY&feature=youtu.betY9MZhaS_RY&feature=youtu.be; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxjMBPcckV4OxjMBPcckV4; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGTg4ITHxtMgGTg4ITHxtM;The State of Canada’s Mining Industry – Facts & Figures 2019
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