Sometimes you just have to laugh at the shenanigans here. No mokita, there is a Santa Claus for local candidates that wish to work at Raven.
Unlike northeastern BC, the Port Alberni and Comox Valley area has a good supply of skilled local workers. In fact, more than 300 local people have already expressed an interest in the Raven Project’s well-paying mine jobs, many of who are currently commuting to other BC communities and Alberta for work.
With its central location, the project hopes to draw labour and expertise from surrounding communities from Nanaimo to Campbell River and Port Alberni.
Here’s what our applicants are telling us:
“I would relocate in a heartbeat’
“I’d love to get a job on the project so I could come back to the Island”
“These jobs could help keep my family close together.”
While some specialized positions will require certain certifications under the Provincial Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, the project will look to the local workforce for electricians, mechanics, equipment operators, labourers, technicians, and more.
Courses like North Island College’s Underground Mining Program are helping to prepare other local workers for mine jobs. The project has met with other training organizations, including the North Vancouver Island Aboriginal Training Society – dedicated to training First Nations – to discuss potential training opportunities.
The project expects to hire up to 200 workers during construction and will create up to 350 well-paying full-time mine, port and transportation jobs. Approximately 50 of those jobs would be in transportation, including truck driving. In addition, the project is expected to generate hundreds of indirect jobs.
The average salary in the mining industry is more than $100,000 per year, including benefits. The project expects to pay out about $35 million in local direct salaries, wages, and benefits annually when it reaches peak production. Although the project hasn’t yet received environmental approval, it has already spent more than $10 million on local wages, goods and services.
The Raven Project is committed to hiring workers from the local area and region.