The mining industry is big business in Saskatchewan, especially in the parkland region. Parkland College is responding to that need, signing two agreements to help prepare students to join that industry, working with Carlton Trail College, International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII) and the Government of Saskatchewan for new programs.
Two programs will be launched under the new agreement. One is the Introduction to Mining Course, training students for entry level positions in the potash mining industry in the region. The second course will bring SIAST's Electrical Applied Certificate Enhanced program to the Esterhazy campus, in order to increase the number of electrician apprentices in the region.
Dr. Faye Myers, president of Parkland College, says that the new course will be focused on preparing students for the industry, with specific emphasis on skills needed as well as safety training targeted towards the places students will be working.
According to Elgin Ozberk, Executive Director and Senior Technical Advisor at IMII, the need for new employees in the mining industry is at an all time high, due to a combination of expansion and retirements in the current workforce. They are working with the college because the best way to respond to that need is to train people near where the greatest demand for skilled labour is.
"It's a well known fact that our province is growing, and it's growing very fast. To be able to support the growth, you need skilled labor. The best is always to train the local population to try to entice them to join the labour force rather than try to bring them in from other provinces or other countries," Ozberk says.
One of the priorities is to train the aboriginal workforce in the are with the new programs. Myers says that they will be working with local First Nations in order to recruit students. One of the advantages of the program is that it will allow students to build their life and career close to home, Myers says. Ozberk says that they want to increase aboriginal engagement because it's a growing population which will be well served by a growing industry.
There will be four intake sessions per year, two in each college. Programming is expected to begin in the fall, and the course will be two program years.
