2023 Canadian Mineral Exploration HR Outlook

The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) partnered to produce the 2023 Canadian Mineral Exploration HR Outlook, which enhances labour market information available to mineral exploration stakeholders and serves as the basis for developing an industry strategy and action plan to address key human resources issues. The report consists of two parts: (1) an overview of the latest relevant statistics describing the exploration sector, and (2) a survey of stakeholders regarding their perspectives on mineral exploration careers.  

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2020 Canadian Mineral Exploration HR Outlook

Unlike other segments of the mining sector, exploration is not covered by a nationally recognized industry classification, nor is there a specific collection of occupations that can be used to define the scope of its labour market.To address this gap, the 2020 report enhances labour market information available to mineral exploration stakeholders, identifies short- and long-term human resources challenges and opportunities, and serves as the basis for developing an industry strategy and action plan to address key human resources issues.

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2017 Canadian Mineral Exploration HR Outlook

Mineral exploration is the first stage of the mining process and requires collaboration between multiple stakeholders to be successful. Mining Industry Human Resource Council (MiHR) partnered with the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) to conduct a pilot study on the exploration industry, and provide valuable information about the least-understood labour market in the mining industry. This research will support industry stakeholders in creating strategies to increase the sector’s ability to engage new pools of talent in mineral exploration.

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Unearthing Possibilities: Human Resources Challenges and Opportunities in the Canadian Mineral Exploration Sector

In 2011, PDAC collaborated with MiHR to produce Unearthing Possibilities, a report that provided reliable, relevant and timely labour market information to support strategic workforce planning and to simulate a proactive approach to the Human Resources (HR) challenges facing the mineral exploration sector.

Industry consultation revealed several HR challenges and opportunities under the headings of career awareness and attraction, recruitment and retention.

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Effects of Field Experience on Recruitment and Retention of Geoscientists in Canadian Mineral Exploration

As a follow up to Unearthing Possibilities, PDAC and MiHR conducted this research study to investigate the impacts of post-secondary field experience on the flow, recruitment and retention of talent from education in the geosciences to the mineral exploration industry.

This research followed on recommendations from Unearthing Possibilities, where employers articulated that the most challenging positions to fill within the exploration sector were geoscience positions, and for all positions that require field work a lack of field experience persists as the number one challenge in filling those vacancies.

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