Canadian mining and oil companies set to expand staff numbers

A new survey by one of the world’s leading recruitment firms reveals that nearly a half of companies in the Canadian resources sector plan to expand their staff numbers in 2013.

Human resources company Hays conducted a recent survey polling over 3,500 respondents from 20 industries, which indicated that 42% of mining companies and 47% of oil companies plan to employ more staff this year.

The news comes amidst controversy in Canada surrounding the employment by miners of foreign workers, mainly from China, in lieu of local hires on the grounds that there are not enough Canadians who are qualified or willing to work certain mining jobs.

HD Mining, a northern BC coal company currently embroiled in a court dispute with unions over the hiring of temporary foreign workers, was recently forced to deny accusations that it had ignored local job applicants, preferring to avail itself of lower cost labor from abroad.