After 28 days of surface and underground training (from left to right) Pelagie Niviatsiak, Stewart Aggark, Jerry Angidlik, Albert Kimaliakyuk (Trainer) and Randy Kataluk completed Meliadine’s Underground Trainee Program and began working at Meliadine as Class 2 Service Miners.
A long-term goal at our Nunavut operations is to develop our people so that one day our mines will be operated and run by Nunavummiut. We know this is possible, we have achieved it at our sites in Finland and Mexico.
Agnico Eagle is doing everything we can to help unlock the power of training to fill available job opportunities from the Kivalliq region. In 2019 alone, we invested nearly $8 million CAD and provided 25,000 hours of training for our Inuit workforce. We continue to collaborate with local governments to create skill development, employment readiness and retention programs. We also offer Inuit employees an opportunity to enroll in our Apprenticeship Program for a multitude of trades related to the mining industry.
In 2019, our People Development team in Nunavut introduced a new program that helps Inuit from Kivalliq communities take their first step into a career in underground mining. The training program, which began in August, had its first eight graduates by December 2019 – each of whom has already landed their first job in the mining industry.
Following 28 days of surface and underground training, these individuals completed Meliadine’s Underground Trainee Program and are now working at Meliadine as Class 2 Service Miners. The next group of four trainees is set to start classes in January 2020 and should complete their training by February 2020.
Philemon Desrochers-Gagnon, Mine Superintendent at Meliadine, says, “This program is specifically tailored to Inuit and provides them with extensive hands-on experience. The goal is to have the trainees ready to work after 28 days. So far, the trainees have been very enthusiastic about the program and we are contemplating offering it every month, rather than every two months. We want this program to be as inclusive and diverse as possible and I am pleased that we had our first female trainee, in our very first session of the program, who graduated in September.
The Underground Trainee Program consists of two 14-day paid training sessions, given by qualified Inuit trainer Albert Kimaliardjuk. Under his guidance, the trainees receive in-class and on-site training – learning how to drive 30-ton haul trucks on surface and underground, as well as job shadowing with skilled mining operators and completing other assignments.
Once graduated from the Trainee Program, the Class 2 Service Miners enter Agnico Eagle Meliadine’s Underground Mining Career Path, which offers even more opportunities. The long-term goal is to fill every entry level position of the Underground Mining Career Path with successful Inuit trainees, who can then take the next steps in their mining career.