New and expanding mining projects across the province of British Columbia will generate significant new high-paying job opportunities across key critical occupations, according to an independent research project released Thursday by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) and the Centre for Training Excellence in Mining (CTEM). 

The Mining Skills Innovation Research Project, co-developed with CTEM, concludes that BC’s mining workforce is expected to grow by a net 5,000 to 12,000 workers over the next ten years. 

“Building a skilled workforce is a significant challenge for BC’s mining industry given unprecedented growth expected over the next decade. Thirty-one proposed new or expanded mining projects present a significant opportunity for BC workers to enter the mining industry and take advantage of skilled, high-paying jobs in every region of  the province,” MABC CEO Michael Goehring said in a news release. 

According to the research, approximately 29,000 people were directly employed in mining in 2024. Under baseline growth assumptions, employment is projected to reach 34,400 workers by 2035, requiring a net increase of more than 5,000 workers. Under a more expansionary scenario, the sector could require more than 12,000 net new workers to meet emerging workforce needs. 

Taking into consideration retirements and transition within the current workforce, under the baseline scenario this means up to 35,000 individuals will have to enter the mining workforce over the next ten years to fill the gap. 

Of 120 occupations in the mining sector, twenty are deemed ‘critical’ occupations, representing more than half of the total mining workforce, according to the report. The leading occupations include mining equipment operators, truck drivers, mechanics, millwrights, electricians, geoscientists and mining engineers. Since only 5% of those occupations are represented in BC’s total current labour supply, BC’s mining sector must aggressively retain, train, and recruit workers to the sector to meet future growth. 

“In response to the global demand for critical minerals, mining will need to continue to compete for skilled workers with other industry sectors, while also identifying and leveraging ways to accelerate the training of new workers – particularly in those critical mining occupations. Industry, training providers, labour and government must bring innovative solutions to accelerate mining skills training in BC,” CTEM Executive Director Jill Budelli said. 

The project’s findings recommend advancing a BC Mining Training Accelerator and adopting global best-practices to better align industry, post-secondary training providers, communities and workforce agencies to develop and advance training delivery for the sector. 

The project was funded through the federal Future Skills Centre (FSC).   

The full report is here.