Saskatchewan’s mining sector is facing a labour shortage.

Saskatchewan Mining Association President Pam Schwan says based on a recent SMA study, the sector needs 15,000 more workers in the next ten years.

“The supply chain is also crunched for the same skillset, so we really need a lot more people entering into careers in the trades, as well as some of the professional areas in terms of the engineering type of careers.”

Her comments were made at the Mining Supply Chain Forum on April 9th and 10th at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon.

The event brought together over 2500 people from Saskatoon, Canada, and beyond that are part of the international mining supply chain. The importance of communication and supporting Canadian was one of the key takeaways from the forum.

“This event is about bringing groups together to make sure we’ve got good communication, transparent communication, and that helps us be globally competitive. When you need something fixed, when something breaks down in the middle of the night, you need local people that understand your business to come in and fix the problem and help you get back up and running again.”

When it comes to tariff concerns, all Saskatchewan mining products are CUSMA compliant, so Donald Trump’s everchanging tariffs don’t yet apply, but the uncertainty is looming.