Case Study
Cameco’s Apprenticeship Program
Cameco’s status as Canada’s top industrial employer of aboriginal people is not just about providing jobs, but meaningful ones with room to grow within the company.
Currently, half of Cameco’s workforce in northern Saskatchewan are residents of Saskatchewan’s north (RSN). Cameco does well in hiring and retaining RSNs in entry level and some technical positions; however, the numbers are low in other areas, including the trades, professional and supervisory positions. As qualifications increase and limited training opportunities exist in northern Saskatchewan the gap is noticeable in these areas. To address the trades’ shortages, Cameco implemented a long-term apprenticeship strategy in 2002. The strategy has increased the number of RSN apprentices and journeypersons at Cameco over the years.
“Building capacity in our northern Saskatchewan workforce is important to Cameco,” said Cheryl Hovdebo, senior specialist, workforce planning and talent acquisition. “We rely on a skilled workforce at all our operations, but particularly in the north, where about half of our employees are residents of Saskatchewan’s north. It’s about strengthening our workforce, but it’s also about empowering people and building positive relationships with our neighbours in the north.”
About 80% of the population of northern Saskatchewan is aboriginal.
Jason Deschambeault, an aboriginal employee originally from Cumberland House, Sask., has directly benefited from Cameco’s push for career development for northerners.
After spending three years as a contract employee at McArthur River, Jason joined Cameco in 2000 as an equipment operator and started his industrial mechanic apprenticeship in 2004. He received his journeyperson ticket four years later.
“The apprenticeship opened a lot of doors for me. I love what I do. I got to work with a great bunch of guys who were committed to my success as an apprentice and a journeyman,” he said.
Apprentices are mentored by experienced journeypersons who work for Cameco. The company provides full tuition, books and living and travel allowances, while the apprentice is engaged in theoretical learning phases. They also receive a wage while they are learning, and once they attain their journeyperson status, the apprentices become regular full-time employees at Cameco.
“There were two of us in the program from McArthur River. Of all the students, we had the most knowledge because we got the best exposure to our trade. McArthur River is a unionized site, but it’s not so job-specific that you don’t touch anything else. We’re exposed to absolutely everything and we’re encouraged to expand our skills. We work on rebuilds, pumps, conveyors, batch plants and pipefitting,” Jason said.
“Also, we were required to learn machinist work as part of the program, but McArthur River doesn’t have a machine shop. So Cameco sent me to Key Lake’s shop and I got to spend two full weeks with a machinist. That’s going way out of their way to help me succeed.”
Cameco currently has 20 RSN apprentices studying a variety of trades, including electricians, industrial mechanics, heavy duty mechanics and carpenters. Thirty-one have completed the program since 2002 and are now fully qualified tradespeople.