High school students test out mining simulators at Seabridge site
Half of Canada's mining workforce is between 40 and 54 years old, with 40 percent planning to retire within eight years. At Seabridge’s KSM project in Northwest BC, the beginning to the solution arrived in a trailer behind technology trainer Jamie Butt’s Finning truck
Finning brought two dozer simulators and Cat-certified technology trainers to KSM in Northwest British Columbia's Golden Triangle. KSM is the world’s largest undeveloped gold project by resources with 19 billion pounds of copper resources—and they will need a lot of heavy equipment operators.
In fact, Canada's mining sector needs over 100,000 new workers by 2035, with heavy equipment operators among the top shortage roles
That’s why Finning and Seabridge set up a two-day workshop for 25 secondary school students from Smithers, Houston, and Telkwa to experience being a miner for a day. KSM's Site Wide Services team will have access to the simulators for an additional two weeks.
Why this matters for our future in mining
“As we move towards construction and operations at KSM, we need a lot more operators. Whatever we can do to help train locals in this field is our priority. One of the things we do in the community is to encourage careers in mining, like today, bringing high school students here to expose them to the vast opportunities,” said Megan Bacon, Community Relations at Seabridge Gold.
“I am really impressed with the questions the students are asking that show thought and consideration about a career in mining. It’s great to see their enthusiasm.”
"Heavy equipment operators can do about 80% of their training in the simulator. Same controls as the real thing, same physics. It’s a safe way to build real skills. By the time they climb into an actual cab, they already know what they’re doing," says Jason Smith, Technology Solutions Architect, Finning Canada
Seabridge also extended the opportunity to their Site Wide Services team to test the simulators and consider careers as a heavy equipment operator. The SWS team are Seabridge employees who work to maintain the site.
Students and teachers share their experience
“It was like being in a dozer as close as you could be. It felt real—it shook, it moved, felt the braking,” said Finn, a high-school participant of the two-day experience at Seabridge.
“I would like to be an equipment operator if I went into the mining industry. I sat in a simulator today and it was very realistic. The vibrations, the movements. I succeeded and didn’t drive off a cliff,” said Haden, a Smithers Secondary School student.
Eric Arpin, a science and math teacher and trades coordinator at Houston Secondary School accompanying students on this field trip, is no stranger to the mining industry. In the summers, he works for Hy-Tech Drilling and spent the last season at Red Chris Mine.
“It’s great to have this opportunity with Seabridge and Finning. For some students, the excitement factor comes from operating the simulator, getting the hands on experience with the dozer. For others, it’s hearing the engineering perspective and seeing the different designs of a mine,” shared Eric.
At active mine sites across Canada, Indigenous peoples account for 11 percent of workforce, more than double the national average. Heavy equipment operators in Canada earn a median wage of $31/hour, with experienced operators earning significantly more.
“I feel privileged to have the opportunity to do this with the students and the site wide services team at KSM. The mining industry needs more skilled workers and this was a chance to see what a career in mining might look like,” added Greg Bury, Director of Greenfield Mining at Finning Canada.
Finning is the world's largest Caterpillar dealer, selling, renting and providing parts and service for equipment and engines to customers across diverse industries, including mining, construction, petroleum, forestry and a wide range of power systems applications. We operate in Western Canada, South America, and UK and Ireland.