50 Students Enrolled in Mining Engineering Options at the University of Saskatchewan
(Saskatoon SK:) Fall has returned, the numbers are in, and a milestone has been reached. 50 students are enrolled in Mining Engineering Options at the University of Saskatchewan.
Addressing talent availability and gaps in the minerals industry workforce is a shared commitment of members of the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII).
To increase mining’s share of available engineering talent, IMII member companies partnered with Innovation Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan to make a $2.1 million commitment in 2013 to bring mining engineering back to Saskatchewan. Enrollment in the three mining-related options – Mechanical Engineering, Geological Engineering and Chemical Engineering – began in 2015. As of this fall, enrollment had reached 50 students.
“These engineering disciplines were identified as talent gap areas, where the hiring requirements in the Saskatchewan minerals industry would not be met by ‘doing the same old thing the same old way’. The enrollment success that has just been achieved is the result of a shared commitment to increasing the number of professional engineers that can be accessed by the mining industry in Saskatchewan. This translates into a distinct home-grown competitive advantage for Saskatchewan mining companies by significantly increasing their ability to recruit locally,” says Al Shpyth, IMII’s executive director.
