Jobs boom heads to Canada's Far North

Government policymakers in Canada and the Northwest Territories are joining mining companies in preparing for an employment boom that economists predict will swamp the North in the next three to five years.

The anticipated surge in jobs is part of a nationwide wave of employment growth expected in the next decade. Canada will need 145,000 new workers in the mining sector along with 300,000 new workers in construction and 150,000 new workers in petroleum.

The mining-driven Northwest Territories economy generates nearly 50 percent of all economic activity in Canada's territories, according to BuildForce Canada, and the Conference Board of Canada forecasts real economic growth in the Northwest Territories to rise by 1.3 percent in 2014, 2.5 percent in 2015 and a robust 7.9 percent in 2016.

With three active mines in the NWT already employing an estimated 2,935 people, and multiple mining projects well into development and expected to go into operation over the next few years, there is a jobs boom coming to the territory. By 2017, it's expected that there will be nearly 5,000 mining positions available, and another 9,000 support or indirect jobs resulting.

By 2019, the territory is expected to have four new mines in operation, while neighboring Yukon Territory and Nunavut also have at least five major mine projects each prepping for start-up of operations in the next few years.

Yet the NWT appears to be plagued by an enduring a shortage of skilled labor and an inability to attract new residents, according to Anja Jeffrey, director of the Conference Board's Centre for the North.

The territory also regularly reports net out-migration of its residents and relatively high unemployment rates, especially among aboriginal residents, Jeffrey told a mining audience in Vancouver in May.

Stagnant current employment

Employment in the Northwest Territories declined by 1,000 (-4.3 percent) in the third quarter of 2014, compared with the same period a year earlier. At the same time, the unemployment rate was little changed at 7.6 percent, as fewer people were searching for work.

In neighboring Nunavut, employment was little changed over this period and the unemployment rate remained at 14.1 percent.

Employment in Yukon Territory, by comparison, rose by 1,200 workers (+6.1 percent) compared with the same period in 2013, and the unemployment rate fell by 1.6 percentage points to 2.8 percent.

Nationwide, employment increased by 74,000 in September, with nearly all worker finding in full-time positions. This pushed Canada's unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 6.8 percent, the lowest level since December 2008.

In September, employment in natural resources across Canada increased by 28,000, offsetting declines observed in the spring and bringing employment back to its September 2013 level.

Job training assistance

The latest evidence of policymakers' desire to spur jobs growth in Northwest Territories and Nunavut are agreements inked by the Harper government with both territorial governments to provide funds for job training assistance.

In the NWT, Ottawa will transfer more than C$1.1 million from the Canada Job Fund in the form of grants to the Government of the Northwest Territories to aid northerners in gaining needed job skills to help connect northerners with available jobs.

"Our government is committed to creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. The Canada Job Grant will give northerners the skills employers are looking for in today's economy. This new initiative will lead to guaranteed jobs, which will further the economic success of the Northwest Territories," said Minister Bernard Valcourt of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development in announcing the aid in August.

Described as an innovative, employer-driven approach, the Canada Job Grant is designed to be flexible enough to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, in all industries and regions.

By requiring employers to invest their own time and resources in providing the training, the Canada Job Grant will result in the training leading to guaranteed jobs, officials say. The job grants will be delivered though the new Canada-Northwest Territories Job Fund Agreement (formerly known as a "Labour Market Agreement").

"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. The Canada Job Grant is part of our commitment to address the paradox of too many Canadians without jobs in an economy of too many jobs without Canadians," said Jason Kenney, minister of GNWT Employment and Social Development. "With employers' skin in the game, the Canada Job Grant will lead to a guaranteed job. Helping employers train Canadians for jobs that need to be filled will help their businesses grow and succeed. And that is good news for the economy of the Northwest Territories."

The Canada Job Grant will provide employers with up to C$10,000 for training costs such as tuition and training materials for an individual worker.

Canada provides more than C$19 million annually in support of skills training in the Northwest Territories.

Jackson Lafferty, minister of Education, Culture and Employment in the GNWT said the Canada-Northwest Territories Job Fund is just one of many programs that individuals and employers can access to obtain jobs training in the territory.

For example, the federal government marked the 10-year anniversary of the Mine Training Society in Yellowknife, NT, last fall by contributing C$5.8 million in federal government funding for the organization's "Mining the Future" initiative.

The initiative aims to ensure that Aboriginal workers are fully prepared to take advantage of these opportunities, by providing wide-ranging training and career support that deliver the necessary technical and life skills. It is supported by funding through the federal government's Skills Partnerships Fund, as well as equally generous in-kind and cash contributions from the mining industry, local government and educational partners.

Since 2004, the Government of Canada's Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership has provided the society with about 50 percent of its core funding through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. This relationship has continued, with the government department providing support for the ongoing "More Than A Silver Lining Project," signed in 2012, and via a new funding agreement completed in February 2013.

The society's mining industry partners, including Diavik Diamond Mine Inc., BHP Billiton, De Beers Canada, Dominion Diamond Corporation, Procon Mining and Tunnelling, and the Government of the Northwest Territories have provided special funding for MTS.

Since 2004, the Mine Training Society has served more than 1,900 individual northerners with training and/or career counseling, and have placed more than 830 of them in high-paying jobs.

"We have a 90 percent success rate in underground mine training and 30 percent participation by women," said Hilary Jones, general manager of the Mine Training Society.

The Mine Training Society has been recognized for its work on several occasions, most notably receiving the 2009 Premier's Award in Excellence in Collaboration from the GNWT, and the 2012 Special Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the mineral industry from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

Jobs training in Nunavut

The federal government also finalized two funding agreements with the Government of Nunavut in September.

Under the Canada-Nunavut Job Fund Agreement, Nunavut will receive a total of C$1 million- its per capita share of the available funding, plus C$500,000 in supplementary funding to recognize the distinct labor market needs of the territory. This represents a 100-percent increase in annual funding to Nunavut, compared to the original agreement.

Both governments also signed a new Canada-Nunavut Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities, marking the first time this agreement has been available to the territory. Some 800,000 working-age Canadians with disabilities who are able to work are not currently doing so, and about half of these individuals have some post-secondary education.

Under the pact, Canada will provide C$1.25 million per year to Nunavut, a contribution that will be matched by the territory.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, Nunavut's real GDP is expected to grow by 3.7 percent in 2015.

The mining industry in Nunavut will be one of the most important economic drivers in near future. It is expected that Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.'s Meliadine gold mine alone will generate roughly 1,500 direct jobs a year over the next two years. The Canada Job Grant will provide up to C$15,000 per person for training costs, such as tuition and training materials, which includes up to C$10,000 in federal contributions.

The Centre for the North's Jeffrey said Canada has a northern strategy but it doesn't have a comprehensive plan for solving the problems of the North.

"No doubt the future lies in the North, but the question of how we're going to go about it remains," she added.