From Awareness to Action: Developing Mining’s Talent Pipeline, Technical Presentation with Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director MIHR

Join us for a Technical Presentation From Awareness to Action: Developing Mining’s Talent Pipeline, Technical Presentation with Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director MIHR at the CDDA AGM and Convention May 25-27, 2025. This presentation will take place May 27, 2025.

Ryan has over 20 years of experience in identifying and addressing human resources and labour market challenges in the Canadian mining industry. Appointed as Executive Director in 2008, he leads all of MiHR’s strategic activities and represents the Council on various industry and government committees and advisory panels. Ryan is a past recipient of the Canadian Institute of Mining – Young Leadership Award and the International Association of Business Communicators Gold Quill award. He is a regular speaker and panelist at industry conferences and events and was a past Distinguished Lecturer for the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM). Prior to joining MiHR, Ryan held various leadership positions with high-tech companies in the Ottawa region. Ryan holds a number of degrees including an MBA and a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation.

Ryan’s presentation will emphasize key Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) initiatives, including actionable steps, tools and resources available to stakeholders to grow and develop industry’s talent pipeline. Mining faces a tight labour market, an increasingly significant obstacle for mining employers. It drives up recruitment costs, wages and increases talent poaching among companies. Additionally, with changing geo-political and trading alliances, Canada needs to rapidly develop its critical mineral capacity to support itself and its allies. Canada is well positioned to produce some of these key minerals and metals but requires a highly skilled and mobile workforce to be able to capitalize on these opportunities. MiHR Initiatives include:

Prioritizing Career Awareness Among Youth: 
Young people today are searching for careers that align with their skills, passions and values. MiHR’s Mining Needs You campaign focuses on empowering youth to see how they can make an impact in a sector that fuels the modern world. It addresses the lack of awareness and negative perceptions of mining, supports industry recruitment initiatives, and aligns with Canada’s critical minerals strategy and minerals and metals plan.

Training New Talent and Upskilling the Current Workforce: 
The demand for skilled workers in the mining sector is increasing, yet many mining-centric post-secondary programs are experiencing declining enrollments or are being offered less frequently. MiHR’s nationally standardized, industry-validated and adaptable training programs are designed to teach both foundational and technical skills, as well as provide upskilling necessary for competence in mining occupations.

Promoting Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces: 
The mining industry has historically faced significant difficulties in attracting and retaining talent from diverse groups, including women. Funded through Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), MiHR is leading an initiative to support the implementation of Mining Association of Canada Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) protocols by developing and implementing gender inclusion policies, tools, training and resources to help address workplace culture and systemic barriers facing women in the mining sector.

There’s still time to register to join us for this event; register at: https://www.cdda.ca/convention-registration/