The Canadian government wants to boost the mining sector by ensuring more people are trained to work in the space, said Jason Kenney, minister of employment and social development, in a speech today.
“Our Government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity,” he added. “With tremendous growth projected in Canada’s mining sector in the coming years, we need to ensure [people] have the skills they need to fill available jobs.”
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Further, he says, “With the Canada Job Grant, our government is committed to fixing the skills mismatch in [our nation].”
Minister Kenney also spoke about strengthening the apprenticeship system, better integrating labour market needs into post-secondary education, and further improving foreign credential recognition.
He called on employers to recruit individuals from groups that are under-represented in the workforce as well, such as those with disabilities, youth and Aboriginal people.
Regarding the latter, he said it’s crucial to “help Aboriginal people across the country get the skills and training they need to secure meaningful employment and build better futures.”
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