Thunder Bay's Confederation College, New Gold partner up to help mining industry trades

A Thunder Bay college and a mining company are teaming up to get more people working in the mining industry.

Confederation College and New Gold signed an agreement in Fort Frances, Ont., Tuesday which "officially aligns the two organizations to better support collaboration efforts to develop skills applicable to the mining industry within the local and regional community," a joint press release stated.

The vice president of Regional Workforce Development at Confederation College said the collaborative work could range from the identification of skills gaps to the delivery of education and training, and everything in between.

"It will allow our two organizations to work in partnership with the communities to further advance our collective programs and initiatives to the benefit of the region," Don Bernosky said.

New Gold's Rainy River (Ontario) Project has already seen this type of partnership in action.

"Confederation College has been an important partner and supporter of the Rainy River Project over the last five years," said general manager Grant Goddard.

"We continue to work with the college to develop capacity in the local communities that match our needs, as well as the goals and aspirations of community members. We look forward to advancing the many opportunities this agreement has to offer," Goddard said.