Industry seeks recruits from academia

As the head of a resource-based university department, I read with interest the report on Patrick MacCulloch’s “Student Night” speech at the Toronto branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (T.N.M., Feb. 11/91). He drew attention to recruitment plans being undertaken by “other Canadian industries” to attract the best and brightest of a shrinking number of high school graduates. If our mining and petroleum industries are to compete for this supply, we should learn from what these other industries are doing.

I am aware, for example, of a large electronics and communications company that is planning a summer “hands-on” program for junior high school students. For two weeks, 30 students will spend each weekday on a university campus where they will be exposed to the engineering and technology of this industry. By repeating the 2-week program over a 6-week period, for example, some 90 students will be reached.

Could not the combined efforts of our mining and petroleum industries develop a similar approach with the involvement of graduate students, university staff and industry participants? I estimate that for eight universities, the overall cost would be in the order of $150,000 per annum and the program would reach a potential 700-plus students per year.

Though not all the students would ultimately choose a career in mining or petroleum, they would certainly have an improved understanding of the industries. That should serve the industries in their efforts to promote a better image. Graduate students, university staff, and visiting speakers from industry would also benefit from the mutual interaction. B. Stimpson, P.Eng. University of Manitoba