Northern College Receives $48,000 in Scholarships from MiHR

Northern College's Haileybury School of Mines has received over $48,000 in scholarship funds from the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) for the Winter 2024 semester. This funding is part of a larger $2 million allocation by MiHR to address declining enrolment in mining-related post-secondary programs across Canada. The funds are aimed at supporting students enrolled in the Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 semesters.

MiHR's Executive Director, Ryan Montpellier, stated that the funding is part of the federal government's Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, which aims to support the mining sector as it faces a shortage of skilled workers. Post-secondary enrolment in mining-related engineering programs in Canada has seen significant declines from 2015 to 2020, with mining or mineral engineering dropping by 41%, geological engineering by 29%, and materials and metallurgical engineering by 7%.

The scholarship funding contributes to Northern College's Mining-specific Scholarship Bursary and Awards funding, making over $140,000 available to mining students through MiHR, the O.E. Walli Foundation, and Northern College. Northern College President and CEO Mitch Dumas highlighted the institution's long history in the mining industry and the importance of such support in attracting the next generation of skilled mining professionals.