September 13, 2022 – Today, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) brought together over 100 representatives from the Natural Resource sector including leaders, businesses and education and training organizations to discuss workforce development gaps and opportunities.

“We were pleased to see local education and training institutes and many of the major players and organizations in the Natural Resources sector today,” says Andrew Kane, Manager, Natural Resources Business Development, Thunder Bay CEDC. “The main goal of this event was to get everyone in the same room and discussing current and future workforce needs required to support a sustainable sector. This is just the first step in building a strong relationship with industry and education institutes and I look forward to continuing to strengthen these relationships.”

As a regional hub, Natural Resources is big business for Thunder Bay. In recent years, the Natural Resources sector in Northwestern Ontario has seen significant economic growth with various mining, forestry and energy projects popping up across the Region. In a recent study published by the CEDC, for the mining sector alone, a workforce of 7000+ is needed to sustain the construction of new mines across Northwestern Ontario. This poses some significant challenges or the Natural Resources sector and action needs to be taken now to avoid further shortages.

“Today was first step in working collaboratively among stakeholders and partners to address workforce needs,” said Jamie Taylor, CEO, Thunder Bay CEDC. “ We were pleased to see this group come together today and are excited about the possibilities. At the CEDC we see Indigenous businesses and workforce along with newcomer attraction as a crucial part to the growth and prosperity of the Natural Resources sector in Northwestern Ontario.”

The event included a networking session, exhibit opportunities and presentations from local industry leaders and workforce development representatives. The presentations involved the following individuals and organizations:

• North Superior Workforce Planning Board – Madge Richardson, Executive Director
• Reconciliation Works Canada – Sandi Boucher, Speaker Author and Facilitator
• Outland partnership with Noront Resources  – Dave Bradley, Indigenous Business Development and Community Relations of Outland and Ryan Weston, Vice President of Exploration for Noront Resources
• Newcomer Centre of Peel & Confederation College – Tania Maksymenko, Project Lead and Neil Harris, Training and Development Facilitator with Miriam Wall, Dean of International Education

The event was in conjunction to the Cen Can Expo that is taking place at the CLE Grounds tomorrow, September 14 & Thursday September 15^th. The Thunder Bay CEDC is a major sponsor for the event and can be found at booth C45.