“We overcame this through an aggressive strategy that included scholarships, training and knowledge transfer from within,” said Bob Marshall, Superintendent of Training and Employee Development.

As part of this strategy, engineering and technology graduates from Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic were recruited by VBNC to work at Inco's hydromet mini-plant in Mississauga, Ontario, where the new technology application was developed on a 1:10,000 scale. A continuous cycle of work terms was utilized at the mini-plant to train these graduates up to hydromet technology, with a view to hiring as many as possible at the Demonstration Plant when it became operational. Approximately 25 graduates were cycled through these work-term placements at the mini-plant.

VBNC has also observed that graduates of manufacturing and technical programs at the College of the North Atlantic were well suited for many of its employment requirements.  In particular, graduates of the three-year Process Operations Engineering Technology (POET) program were ideal recruits for operator positions at the Demonstration Plant. To further strengthen this program, VBNC provided input and assistance to the College to modify the POET program to include hydrometallurgy.  As well, VBNC donated $50,000 to the College, which awarded $2,000 scholarships to 20 graduating students in 2005 and will award another ten scholarships in 2006.

The College’s Placentia Campus was also proactive in developing and delivering a process operator training program based on elements of the POET program, which was successful in recruiting a substantial number of Placentia-area residents to the Demonstration Plant. (see sidebar below).

Just as the mini-plant was utilized as a training environment for the Demonstration Plant, the Demonstration Plant will also train workers for the Commercial Plant. "Our challenge is to keep these individuals excited about the opportunity, retain them for the life of the Demonstration Plant and then employ them at the Commercial Plant," said Bob Marshall. "Some will have worked at all three phases of the operation. And of course many will assume more senior leadership roles as things evolve, because they have that knowledge legacy.”

Because they are developing specialized knowledge of an important new technology, the opportunities for the Demonstration Plant workforce are virtually unlimited, Marshall added.  “In fact, we have already identified a potential leadership team for the commercial plant from the existing workforce at the Demonstration Plant,” he said.

All employees participated in both safety and job specific training prior to starting work at the Demonstration Plant.  Operations employees went through an extensive training program covering the operation of each area of the plant as well as the required safety and orientation training identified for their occupation.

“We have followed through on a major commitment to provide training and employment opportunities for the Placentia area,” said Human Resources Manager Wayne Scott. “In addition to hiring local graduates, we continue to work with the College to guide them in meeting a continued and future need for skilled operators and technicians.  Our input and feedback is being used to direct and build on existing courses to meet the needs both for the hydrometallurgical plant and existing process oriented industry in the province.”