Mining Industry Human Resources Council

The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR)[1] is the national sector council for the Canadian minerals and metals industry, and is part of the Alliance of Sector Councils^[1]. MiHR contributes to the sustainability of the Canadian mining sector by collaborating with its stakeholders and communities of interest, to develop solutions tailored to human resources needs in the mining sector^[2]. MiHR is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program. The products and services supporting MiHR endeavors are based on sound research into the skills and labour market issues that matter most to the Canadian mining industry.

MiHR Innovate

MiHR Innovate is a collaborative platform for sharing knowledge and effective human resources practices and initiatives, in the interest of addressing the HR challenges specific to the mining industry. Developed by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, MiHR Innovate recognizes HR practices in four key areas: diversity and inclusion; skills, training and employee development; compensation and wellness; and social responsibility. Practices can include any type of initiative that impacts a Canadian mining company and its employees.

Some of the most pressing HR challenges affecting Canada's mining industry are matching labour supply and demand, lack of skills recognition, attracting and retaining a diverse workforce and labour mobility. If these HR challenges are not addressed, Canada's mining industry faces a significant labour shortage. Between 2010-2020, approximately 40% of the Canadian mining workforce will be eligible for retirement^[3].

Mining Industry Workforce Information Network

In 2007, the Council (MiHR) [2] began developing the Mining Industry Workforce Information Network (MIWIN) [3], a pan-Canadian labour market information (LMI)^[4] and analysis system. The key objective of MIWIN is to project annual hiring requirements in the mining industry over the short, medium and long term, based on key assumptions about future economic and demographic developments^[5]. More specifically, the network reveals the number and types of mining jobs available on a provincial and occupation-specific basis. Ultimately, MIWIN will evolve into a web-based system that covers all provinces in Canada where mining is carried out. It will feature an on-line query and reporting capability that can generate forecasts of future labour requirements.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/sector_councils/listsectorcouncils.shtml
2. ^ http://www.mihr.ca/en/about/index.asp
3. ^ http://www.mihrinnovate.ca/en/
4. ^ http://www.labourmarketinformation.ca/standard.aspx?pcode=lmiv_main&lcode=E
5. ^ http://www.mihr.ca/en/priorities/miwin.asp