Potash industry booming

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The recent move by the Saskatchewan government to improve tax incentives for potash producers in the province means the big three potash companies-PotashCorp, Agrium and Mosaic-are all planning to increase their potash production. And that in turn will translate into new employment opportunities within the potash sector.

Garth Moore, president of PCS Potash, the potash subsidiary of PotashCorp, expects his companies expanded production will mean creation of about 150 new jobs over the next couple of years. Moore would like to see some of those jobs go to Aboriginal people, but historically, the potash industry in Saskatchewan hasn't had much success in attracting Aboriginal employees, he explained.

"We've had lots of meetings with various folks trying to figure out how to better get the Aboriginal community involved with our company and our different operations... we are a large employer in the province, we have about 1,500 employees in Saskatchewan. And unfortunately we have a very, very small number of Aboriginals at our mine sites or in our corporate office," Moore said.

"We do have a problem and we understand we have a problem, and we're not sure how to address it properly."

PotashCorp is a Saskatchewan-based company with its head office in Saskatoon. The company owns and operates five mines in Saskatchewan, extracts potash from a fifth mine, and owns and operates two potash mines in New Brunswick.

There are a variety of types of careers available within PotashCorp, ranging from labourers and operators to mechanics and electricians, to accountants and executive assistants.

With head offices in Saskatoon and three of the company's mines within driving distance of the city, Moore would like to find ways to attract employees from Saskatoon's large Aboriginal population. So far, however, that hasn't happened. The company hasn't had any greater success in its other mines, also located in the vicinity of First Nations; and Mosaic and Agrium have been no more successful in their efforts to attract potential Aboriginal candidates.

As an employer, PotashCorp has a lot to offer, Moore explained.

"Let's take for example if, say someone with just a Grade 12 education comes out and wants to get into our workforce. Potash jobs in Saskatchewan probably offer the highest wages in the province or close to it. Say an operator would start at something like $14 or $15 an hour and a top operator makes over $30 an hour, plus we have a benefit package which is very good, with a good pension plan, good health benefits, eye care benefits, a whole gamut in that run. So they're very lucrative jobs, very popular jobs.

"Just for example, we just brought on a fourth shift at Allan and our Lanigan mines last year and for the Allan operation we were looking for, I think, somewhere around 16 employees. We had 350 applicants and, I'll be honest with you, very few, if any, of those were Aboriginal. And so these are very popular jobs, there's lots of people who want them, and we would love to integrate a lot more of the Aboriginal players if they'd come to the table with us."