Fuelling Our Future: Talent and Technology in Canada’s Mining and Oil & Gas Industries
Two of Canada’s key primary industries, mining and oil & gas, are projected to undergo rapid technological transformation. Robotics, digitization, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies will reshape how work is performed and will drive innovation in these industries, demanding new skills and augmenting existing ones. Identifying these skills gaps, workforce needs, and cross‐cutting competencies will be critical in ensuring Canada’s primary industries remain competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Our research will provide essential insights to help industries, post‐secondary institutions, and policy-makers strengthen workforce resilience, close skills gaps, and position Canada’s mining and oil & gas sectors for long-term success in the face of uncertainty.
Key insights
There is a looming labour shortage in the mining and oil & gas sector, driven by an aging workforce. In 2024, the ratio of workers aged 55+ to workers aged 15–24 in this sector was almost double that of the industry average (3.19 and 1.62, respectively).
The top technologies adopted in this sector are environmental monitoring technologies, and advanced mapping tools (65 per cent each), followed by advanced materials-handling systems, and digital twins or remote monitoring (58 per cent each).
Just over half of respondents claim that it has been somewhat difficult to find workers with the skills required for roles related to advanced technology adoption, while 29.5 per cent say it has been very difficult.
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Have questions about our work? Do you need access to a report in English or French? Please contact communications@fsc-ccf.ca.