TECH TOMORROW
Educators and stakeholders focus on analytics, robotics and machine learning as the mining industry moves increasingly away from on-the-ground digging, as Joel Schlesinger explains.
The future isn’t just bright for mining — it’s increasingly high-tech.
What’s more, workers with the right skills will be in demand in the coming years as the province’s mining sector transforms itself more and more into a technology-based industry embracing big data analytics, robotics, machine learning and autonomous vehicles.
“We have some very large companies in the mining sector, and growing use of technology is part of the province’s overall economic growth plan,” says Dr. Larry Rosia, president and chief executive officer of Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Saskatchewan is a global leader in extracting uranium, potash and other mineral commodities, with multinational firms such as Mosaic, Cameco and Nutrien operating major mines in the province.
“And every one of these will ultimately be a technology company, so as these mining firms become tech-based, the need for an educated and skilled workforce will become only more critical,” Rosia says.
That’s one of the key reasons the polytechnic has an advisory committee and works with stakeholders from these firms to determine future training needs.
“There’s no question there is a transformation taking place,” says Jamie Hilts, dean of the School of Mining at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. “Mining is not as manual-labour intensive as it once was, with robotics and automation more and more the standard practice.”
These emerging technologies are where the emerging jobs in mining are. Even new training for millwrights involves working on autonomous vehicles increasingly in use in mines, Hilts adds.
Robotics and other automation will inevitably mean fewer boots on site. Still, demand for workers in the industry — looking beyond the current challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic — will be high, says Ryan Montpellier, executive director of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHR).
“What’s happening today casts a long shadow. This is a little bit of uncharted territory with COVID -19.”
For sure, the pandemic has resulted in disruption, with some mine shutdowns and layoffs. But what doesn’t change is the need for these resources today and in the future, and the coming demographic challenges faced by the industry, he says.
“About 40 per cent of the industry is 45 years old and up, and a number of those workers are much closer to retirement age,” Montpellier says. “Those are folks that will need to be replaced.”
He further notes the Canadian industry will need to hire about 80,000 workers in the next 10 years, with the bulk of those jobs replacing retiring workers.
The industry will grow, too, but much of that growth will be muted by new technologies reducing the more traditional on-the-ground workforce at mines. “So, for example, what used to take 20 people hauling ore in trucks can be done with one person in one truck, and now we’re even talking about automating that job,” Montpellier says.
Indeed, autonomous vehicles could soon be the norm, and those are the kinds of technologies where the job growth will be.
“The need for Stem-related (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) occupations has grown significantly, certainly more so than we are seeing among the more vulnerable occupations — those hands-on jobs in the past,” Montpellier says.
That’s why post-secondary institutions such as Saskatchewan Polytechnic are part of initiatives like the Digital Integration Centre of Excellence (DICE), working with various industry partners. And mining organizations are chief among them, says Hilts.
“We work with a lot of mining companies to look at ways for operations above and below ground to have the necessary technical expertise to deliver the services to work with emerging technologies.”
But the jobs and training go beyond the technical aspects of mining.
“Jobs also include commercial pilots who fly workers into camps, cooking and professional food services, occupational safety and nurses,” says Hilts.
He adds that the sector also employs plenty of office occupations in finance, administration and legal. “The mining sector is very large and diverse.”
As well, training for future workers, and even for existing employees seeking to upskill, is experiencing strong demand even amid the pandemic, Hilts says.
“Our mining engineering technology program (which launches Aug. 31), as early as May, was 95 per cent full, and we’re very confident our programs related to the industry will continue to be sought out.”
Near-term challenges aside, a light shines brightly at the end of the tunnel for individuals seeking good-paying, engaging careers, Rosia says.
“Someone wanting a great career in Saskatchewan should certainly look to the mining sector.”