Canadian Mining Certification Program celebrates its past, present and future: Over 1,000 miners are now certified nationally

OTTAWA, ON (March 26th, 2015) - The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) is pleased to announce a key milestone for the Canadian mining industry: over 1000 workers have now successfully achieved national certification in the occupations of Underground Miner, Surface Miner, Minerals Processing Operator and Diamond Driller through the Canadian Mining Certification Program (CMCP). 

"This milestone is representative of our industry's growing commitment to a highly skilled and consistently trained workforce and a shift toward a national, collaborative approach to skills and competencies that spans provincial borders," says Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director at MiHR. 

The program, now at 1046 certified, continues to gain momentum and will be exploring expansion to include three in-demand occupations in 2016, as chosen by industry:  Frontline Supervisor, Industry Trainer and Hoist Operator. This potential expansion would be made possible by a $1.2 million agreement through Employment and Social Development Canada's Sectoral Initiatives Program. The three-year agreement, which began in 2014, will first develop and validate the National Occupational Standards for the chosen occupations, then develop the certification framework.

"This is a win-win situation for the employer, the worker and the industry," says Denis Beaudoin, Corporate Director of Health and Safety at Cementation Canada Inc. "We are well on our way to certifying all miners in Canada to a National Occupational Standard that will be the envy of other mining jurisdictions." 

The certification program was designed to strengthen the competitiveness of Canada's mining industry and positively impact the attraction, retention and training efforts of participating companies - something employers have prioritized. 

Pierre Gratton, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Mining Association of Canada states, "In consultation with The Mining Association of Canada, certification of mine workers was seen as a critical component of a human resources strategy - critical to our workforce and to the future competitiveness of our industry."  

Prior to the launch of the CMCP, occupations such Underground Miner, Surface Miner and Minerals Processing Operator were referred to as "undesignated" and lacked a formal, national recognition system which led to high turnover rates, inconsistent training and an inefficient labour market. In celebration of the first 1000 certified miners, all CMCP-certified workers are invited to submit pictures of themselves with their various certification items (certificate, wallet card, skills passport, lapel pin, hard hat sticker) to the Canadian Mining Workers Facebook Page, where one winner will be drawn at random to win $1,000 travel gift card at the end of April. In addition to their commitment to skills standardization in mining, employers are looking toward the CMCP for a number of other strategic reasons including competitive advantage, skills gap analysis, and in support of responsible mine closure efforts.  ENDS 

About the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) is the national human resources council for Canada's mining industry. It collaborates with communities of interest to identify and address human resources challenges facing the minerals and metals sector. For more information, visit www.mihr.ca. 

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