http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html
John Roozendaal is president of VMS Ventures.
British Columbia is known as a world-class centre of mining excellence, and Canada’s largest producer of copper, exporter of coal and the only producer of molybdenum. Mining has a production value of approximately $8.6 billion each year and currently employs over 30,000 people across the province.
The B.C. government recognizes the importance of mining. The BC Jobs Plan has set a target of opening eight new mines, and expanding nine existing mines by 2015. This will be supported by the 850 mining and exploration companies based in Vancouver — including ourselves — which account for more than half of the mining companies across Canada as a whole.
However, there is one major sticking point that could prevent these goals from being achieved: We are facing a skills shortage in the industry, and this will only escalate over the coming years as more mines are built and the need for skilled labour intensifies.
A shortage of 60,000 to 90,000 skilled workers is expected by 2017 according to The Mining Association of Canada, with B.C.’s mining industry requiring over 17,000 new employees within the next ten years.