By NICK STEWART
Where most modern mining trade shows feature career fairs, the recently announced MineSET Mine Technologies and Career Opportunities Forum is focusing exclusively on the attraction and retention of skilled employees.
While the show acts as a combination of trade show, career fair and discussion forum, MineSET will focus specifically on bridging the gaps between the three areas when it is held at the Walden Arena in Lively on April 25 and 26.
“It’s about companies demonstrating the new technologies they’re using and where they need to fill the void with skilled workers and linking it together with education and job opportunities,” Michael Buckingham, MineSET coordinator, SHOWPRO Trade Show & Event Management, says.
“It’s a different spin than the typical ‘Let’s see what you’ve got’ thing, which most shows are, and they kind of become a dog’s breakfast.”
All manner of mining companies, from operating mines to service and supply sector businesses, are being invited to showcase the technologies used in their regular operations.
New and emerging technologies will also be highlighted. Buckingham points to new developments from firms such as the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. (NORCAT), Mining Technologies International and Atlas Copco as examples of the kind of work that may be on display.
Up to 10 show sponsors will also be able to make a one-hour presentation in the upper floor of the arena, and while the specifics of each seminar are up to the individual sponsor, each must have a technology focus.
In this way, exhibitors will be able to show attendees what kind of skills they will need from prospective employees.
Other show elements will feed into this approach, with various schools and educational institutions providing information on what programs and processes need to be pursued to achieve those skills.
Rounding out the show is the career fair, where companies may show what jobs are available to those who have developed the demonstrated skills and to potentially recruit attendees.
MineSET has already received early backing from the Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export (CAMESE) as well as a number of post-secondary institutions such as Laurentian University, Collège Boréal and Northern College.
In total, up to 65 general exhibitors and 24 career fair exhibitors are expected to attend, and although organizers have no set figure for estimated attendees, Buckingham says it could reach as high as 10,000 people over the two days.
The event is also being timed to coincide with the end of the school year to help feed into the show’s focus of mining sector employment, Buckingham says. In fact, given MineSET’s approach, attendees are mainly expected to be mining sector employees and students.
In order to put on MineSET, SHOWPRO is planning to leverage the experience earned from putting on similar shows for other companies over the last 20 years. In particular, organizers will draw upon knowledge they’ve gained from building and organizing the 61-exhibitor Canada pavilion for CAMESE at the 2004 MINExpo in Las Vegas.
While the event is still months away, Buckingham says response has already been so strong and the industry’s need for workers so obvious that it is likely to become an annual event.
