Silver Tsunami: A wave of retirements is crashing on Canada's mining companies

Much has been written about “The Great Resignation” – a trend that started in early 2021, where many employees voluntarily resigned en masse – but in Canada, most mining leaders admit they felt little to no impact. 

However, now with more than 1/5th of Canadian mining workers over the age of 55 and over 50% of skilled engineers reaching retirement age in the next decade, there is no debate about the next big shakeup to the labour market. “The Great Retirement” is here and is impacting mining organizations from coast to coast. The effects are being felt in every aspect of the industry, from the head offices to the mine sites, and an aging workforce is creating challenges for mining leaders.

At the same time, the existing talent pipeline is woefully insufficient to fill the skills gap retirements are creating. In Canada, there has been a 1/3rd decrease in mining and mineral engineering enrollment.

Even the most optimistic workforce leaders concede that the current situation is not sustainable, and that to meet production targets, efforts need to be made to retain senior staff members and ensure an effective transmission of their expertise to the next generation.

So, what can be done, and what are Canada's miners doing about it?

1. Mentorship Programs

With an increasingly aging workforce, the most experienced (and often most skilled) workers are preparing for retirement, taking with them invaluable expertise. Developing mentorship programs, by pairing more senior workers with junior staff, can be an effective way to encourage the transmission of critical skills and know-how to the next generation. Historically, for many of Canada's mining companies, these initiatives have been informal arrangements, but as of late there has been a growing push to develop official mentorship programs.

2. Formalizing Phased Retirement

Many of the most experienced employees aren’t ready to fully retire, and the demand for phased retirement programs—which allow workers nearing retirement age to cut back on their hours while keeping some pay and benefits – is growing. Unfortunately, only the most innovative mining organizations have implemented programs to accommodate these demands. In fact, only 8% of organizations offer formal programs for phased retirements.

3. Restructuring Roles

Many mining professionals look forward to retirement and being able to put their feet up. However, for some, the realities of working in the mining industry may be the primary factor in their decision on when to retire. To combat this, some miners have begun restructuring roles to ensure the mining organizations can utilize more senior staff in other capacities. This may include, moving some more senior staff into roles that allow them to administer training, moving some tasks online when possible, or looking at opportunities for lateral job moves that may be more accommodating to older workers.

To ensure a robust mining workforce, industry wide effort will be critical to attract a younger generation into the industry. In the meantime, miners will need to be creative about how they can work with their most senior employees to help fill the growing talent gap and ensure an effective transmission of their mining expertise to their younger counterparts.