Mining Careers Under The Microscope at TRU
SD83 students had an opportunity to look for clues towards future careers in the mineral exploration and mining industry. Sixteen students from JL Jackson Secondary and a couple more from a private Kamloops school were able to spend the day learning about the three specific careers fields mainly associated with the industry: Trades, Engineering and the Natural Sciences. May is Mining Month in B.C. The event was sponsored by Thompson Rivers University and MineralsEd, a not-for-profit agency run by teachers for teachers to expose students to careers in the resource-based industry. Students spent nearly an hour in each station learning about the discipline.
The Natural Resource faculty hosted an engaging station where students went on a visual scavenger hunt to check out rocks behind a glass and sand under a microscope. One question they had to answer involved determining the site of a crime scene by looking at several sand and rock samples to determine if the assailant and victim were at the same location. Students also learned about the different jobs involved before and after a mine is created which involve geologist, chemists, hydrologists and foresters, among others.
The students received a trades tour to explore all of the different types of trades that are involved during a mine’s lifetime. The students toured the following facilities: Welding, Heavy Duty and Automotive Tech, Instrumentation, Electrical, Millwright, HVAC, Power Engineering and Carpentry. Some of the students on the tour have expressed an interest in a couple of these trades as a career pathway.
The students also spend time learning about a number of specialized Engineering careers involved in the mining industry. Some of those engineering positions involve but are not limited to the following: Geotechnical, Software/Computer, Chemical, Metallurgical, Mining, Electrical, Mechanical and Civil. The students were told there are 71 active mines in BC with more coming on stream in the not-too-distant future and the huge opportunities that exist for such a specialized profession in this province and around the world. One student had a chance to also operate their four-legged robot which can operate in areas too dangerous for people to work in to get a risk assessment for humans.
If you have any ideas on potential field trips in the future, don’t hesitate to reach out to SD83 Career Education Coordinator George Richard by either phone or text at 778-824-1188 or email grichard@sd83.bc.ca.