The affinity group model is working well. In mining, we're fortunate in that we have a relatively smaller number of institutions to deal with compared to, say, IT. We have nine universities and some seventeen community colleges and institutes of technology. That's a manageable group with which industry can communicate, exchange, and try to make sure they're as responsive as possible.
But there's not only the fact that it's onerous to change curriculum rapidly, there's the technological change and the need to have the equipment in situ for the students to work on. Sometimes we're talking about million-dollar pieces of equipment or more, so there's a need to foster the relationship between employers and individual schools, but also to make sure that those partnerships are happening within the context of the pan-Canadian reality of the industry so that the skills do remain transferable.
And it can happen even before the post-secondary level. One example is a pilot project that's happening in Ontario right now, called the Ontario specialist high skills major. One of the pilots is in Sudbury, for mining, whereby a student gets his or her secondary school diploma, but some of the training takes place at the worksite and is delivered by the employer, and the student is credited for that training. Pending the results of that pilot project, our council will be looking to roll out that kind of initiative. The next logical choice would probably be Quebec in terms of the importance of mining. It's something that we're considering, along with the conseil sectoriel in Quebec. That is a natural lead-in to a more efficient link between the post-secondary system and industry's needs.