M-PIN, one year later

By Alix Parsons

Canada’s mining industry is vast and full of opportunity, which makes it a very attractive place to start a career for people of many backgrounds and skillsets. Unfortunately, internationally trained professionals coming to Canada have historically had to face many challenges before being able to work in the industry: language barriers, unfamiliar climates and unrecognized talent are just a few of the major roadblocks that newcomers have faced. The representation of immigrants and visible minorities in the Canadian economy was 23 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively; however, the representation of these under-represented groups in mining was only 13 per cent and nine per cent, respectively. Clearly, the sector still has some work to do in attracting this growing source of labour. While the mining industry continues to face challenges from a tight labour market, companies and human resource organizations have created programs to help immigrants acclimate to Canada and enter its mining industry, and one of the latest projects is celebrating its landmark first year.

The Mining Professional Immigrant Network (M-PIN) is a joint effort between the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), The Toronto Regional Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) and Professions North/Nord (PNN), with funding provided by the Government of Ontario. Since September 2018, M-PIN has helped internationally trained professionals become aware of opportunities and secure good jobs in the Ontario mining sector, and helped the sector itself by filling labour market shortages and increasing newcomer representation in mining.

“Only one year in, we have been astounded by the interest and community that has developed around the project,” says Jennifer Wright, senior director of diversity and employment initiatives at MiHR. “M-PIN has had a big impact on many internationally trained professionals looking to get into the mining industry, as well as the industry itself, and it has only just begun.”

Functioning as both an online and in-person networking group, the free program has already accomplished its goals to adapt, test and evaluate innovative engagement methods to better integrate immigrant talent into the Ontario mining industry, and continues to innovate. Over 150 internationally trained professionals and employers have connected at in-person networking events held at venues across Ontario, and over 170 have connected online through ENSEMBLE, The Mining Diversity Network. Some industry human resource members have also participated in inclusion and diversity training to better recognize, address and prevent potential barriers to employing newcomers.

The program has already seen a wealth of success. For Lisa Demmer, Rock-Tech’s former marketing and relationships manager, this success came in the form of a shifted perception after attending an M-PIN networking meetup in January.

“We have a much greater appreciation for the challenges that newcomers face, even when they’re highly skilled,” she says. “For an engineer with such excellent education and experience to take well over a decade to receive a professional designation in Ontario, that certainly still means that there is a lot of work to do.”

Despite the several challenges that lie ahead, other companies have already started warming up to the benefits of hiring highly skilled, internationally trained talent. Shivan Singh, an engineer from South Africa who had only moved to Canada a month prior, found the meeting he attended in February to be more helpful than he had imagined – he met his future employer there.

“I struggled to see opportunities in Northern Ontario in my field,” Singh says. “However, when I reached Canada, attending an M-PIN event and going to job fairs that Professions North/ Nord put me in contact with, I saw there are opportunities here.”

Networking with other newcomers at the M-PIN event also helped Singh learn how to get an engineering license in Ontario, something that had been causing him a great deal of stress overseas.

Singh is only one of hundreds whose professional lives have been enhanced by the network. Even for those unable to attend physical meetups, M-PIN’s online presence has also grown dramatically since its inception, and continues to grow strong still.

“The Mining Professional Immigrant Network was a great opportunity that I think we really turned into something special,” says Ryan Montpellier, executive director of MiHR. “2019 saw a real difference in our efforts to strengthen and diversify the talent pool for the Ontario mining industry.”

Newcomers and employers alike can look forward to even more networking events coming in 2020, with enhanced training classes incoming as well. Blogs, webinars, discussion forums, a shared calendar and more can be found on ENSEMBLE , and joining is simple and free. Visit MiHR.ca to learn more, and email mpin@mihr.ca to join today.