What I would say is that in mining the whole issue of the primary transformation of the resource—getting it off the ground—is a huge area, a huge issue, and it has been for at least a generation. Mining has lost interest among young people for a long time. We're talking 25 to 30 years.
Universities have partnered with companies to try to stimulate enrolment in mining. When I lived in Montreal, I recall École Polytechnique and McGill University getting together to consolidate their mining engineering faculty and activities. I think this has happened elsewhere in the country.
What I'd simply say is that it's the mirror image of what we've been saying and what Mr. Gamble said a few minutes ago. There are a lot of areas that could attract young people if only we could make young people aware of those areas.
We cannot solve this problem instantaneously. When engineers have opportunities with greater salaries and possibly a career, and they can see down their runway a little more than three to five years and can see that the job could become a career, then they'll go where there is a career rather than a job.
I'm not saying that's not what is offered in Sudbury. I'm sure there are careers in Sudbury, but there is a perception that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
I would simply say that to solve this generational issue of more mining engineers and more electric power engineers, resource engineers, petroleum engineers, oil sands engineers, and nuclear engineers, we need to think in terms of 25 years. We have to invest time and go into schools and expose young people to engineers.
A primary school or a high school will often have visits to museums and to artistic and cultural centres, but rarely to a plant in an industrial setting. Rarely do you see an engineer as a high school teacher or as a primary school teacher. There are some; there are just not enough.
There are not any incentives for engineers, with their qualifications, to change in mid-career and go into teaching. They're not recognized because the essential competency is that of teaching, but what one brings as a teacher isn't recognized. If engineers were recognized for their engineering background and went to high schools, the students would be exposed to people other than science graduates and bachelor of arts graduates. Exposure to the kinds of thinking and experience from engineers is essential, but we have to open our minds and get into those schools and show students what opportunities there are. Mining is a great opportunity, but they don't know it.