Future professionals for Canada's minerals industry—some thoughts on supply and demand

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 75, No. 845, 1982

JOHN E. UDD Associate Professor, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

For decades, writers have expressed concern about impending shortages of professionals for Canada's minerals industry. Even under the present difficult economic circumstances, it is anticipated that the supply which will be available will not be adequate to meet the requirements in certain key areas-including mining and petroleum engineering. It is evident that, unless further initiatives are taken, shortages will exist for some time.In this paper, the writer reviews information which relates to both the demand for, and the supply of, persons with advanced-level education in minerals-related disciplines. In particular, a summary is made of the information regarding supply which has been collected by the CIM General Committee on Education for many years.In concluding, the writer expresses some personal opinions regarding imbalances between demand and supply and offers some recommendations for future actions.

Mots Clés: Education, Minerals industry, Manpower, Mining engineering, Geology, Geophysics, Metallurgical engineering.