Smithers Exploration Group (SEG) and Northwest Community College (NWCC) are partners in the NWCC School of Exploration and Mining. The school is administered in Smithers, British Columbia but offers the programs in local communities, where the industry needs and training requirements are greatest.
The School offers the following courses for the exploration and mining industry:
- Mining Exploration Field Assistant Exploration Field Assistant (MEFA)
- Environmental Monitor Assistant Program (EMAP)
- Camp Attendant Maintenance Program (CAMP)
- Drillers Helper
- Core Technician
- Glacier till sampling
- Basic Prospecting
- All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Driver
- Wilderness Safety including Bear Aware, Chainsaw, Snowmobile, ATV
- Workforce Training including Occupational Health & Safety, OFA 1, OFA 3
- Oil & Gas industry including H2S Alive, WHMIS, TDG
- Heavy Equipment Operator
- Trades
- Introduction to Metal Leaching and Acid Rock Drainage Workshop
In 2009, the School introduced its new Environmental Monitor Assistant Program (EMAP), funded through a grant from the Province of BC and the Government of Canada's Joint Labour Market Agreement. Two sessions of EMAP were run through July/August and September/October at the School's Ganokwa bushcamp. More than 40 graduates are already finding employment in various environmental programs underway in the northwest, at the environmental assessment stage of the industry, or with First Nations programs.
Above: Students from the Northwest Community College School of Exploration and Mining visit the Huckleberry Mine site south of Houston, BC as part of the Environmental Monitor Assistant Program (EMAP).
Graduates from the various courses are ready for employment. Rob Maurer is Industry Training & Employment Liaison officer for the School of Exploration and Mining. He can be reached at rmaurer@nwcc.bc.ca or 250-847-4461. For more information, visit NWCC's School of Exploration & Mining page.