Yes, that's a good question and definitely one that our company addresses head-on.
I would say we are unique and different from many other organizations, including many in the resource sector. We do not, and haven't for some time, waited for candidates to come to us seeking employment, who are then told they're not qualified. We're active in communities in various forms—community dialogue tables, visits, whatever it is—and have been cataloguing people's current skill sets, education, and employment aspirations. We are trying to triage that to see where they're short today so that they can actually enhance their application.
That is different from what you'll see from the bulk of the organizations involved in some sort of industry or commerce, because in most of those types of activities, you simply come to that organization and you're either qualified or you're not. If you're not, you're told to go away and get the qualifications and come back when you're qualified.
Well, we don't have that luxury because of how we operate our four northern work locations. We have the agreements with the Government of Saskatchewan that I talked about, which hold us to standards for local employment. We do not have the luxury of simply telling people, “I'm sorry, you're not qualified”. We actually have to work with them to define those qualifications, and find ways in which the training in and around those communities can benefit them so that they're on a path for employment.
It doesn't always happen and it doesn't always happen instantaneously, so it becomes a challenge for us. As I previously said, when those roles are upskilled, we're simply moving the goal posts out for people. If having a GED or high school diploma was satisfactory for entry-level employment 10 years ago, that's likely not going to be satisfactory in the future. We have that challenge to deal with as well because workplaces automate. There is more equipment there, and there are risks to all employees if people don't understand basic safety manuals or if there are literacy or numeracy gaps. There is a risk to the whole industrial complex if they're not able to follow those written or verbal instructions.
There is no question that remains a challenge for us.