The Saskatchewan Coal Transition Centre has been busy since it opened in early January, as director Craig Johnston has been meeting with those affected by the shift away from conventional coal power.聽
The transition centre, which is a joint project between the United Mine Workers of America Local 7606 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2067, provides miners and coal-fired power generation workers in Estevan and Coronach with career training, business, retirement and mental health support 鈥� areas that Johnston said are important. 聽
The federal government is supplying funding through the Coal Communities Transition Initiative. Johnston鈥檚 office is located in the 小蓝视频east College鈥檚 Estevan campus.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of active participation by the guys,鈥� said Johnston. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e obviously motivated to see this happen. So it鈥檚 been busy.鈥澛�
It鈥檚 been tough to have people drop by and talk to him at his office in the 小蓝视频east College鈥檚 Estevan campus due to COVID-19 restrictions. And he hasn鈥檛 been able to go to Coronach to meet with workers out there. 聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 mostly been by phone and by email, but people drop by,鈥� said Johnston.聽
He estimates he will meet with about a dozen people each week. The discussions often depend on the ages of the people he meets with.聽
鈥淥bviously the older ones are more interested in retirement planning and stuff like that, while younger ones more so are into career planning. We鈥檙e also looking at working with the Canadian Mining Association on a certification program to get a lot of the guys skills and experience, for example, on some of the heavy machinery, and getting them certified.鈥澛�
A lot of them have the decades of experience, but don鈥檛 have the paper to say they鈥檙e officially qualified. 聽
Labour Market Services and the 小蓝视频east College are also involved with the certification process.聽聽聽
鈥淲e鈥檝e had some of our guys, as a matter of fact, help out with their heavy equipment operator program that鈥檚 starting up,鈥� said Johnston. 聽
Most of the clients thus far are from Estevan, he said, but that鈥檚 because it鈥檚 easier for people here just because the centre is based out of Estevan.
He hopes that as COVID restrictions ease, there can be a greater presence in Coronach. 聽
The transition centre will have its first event, a virtual session, on March 22 at 6:30 p.m. Saskatchewan author Allan Kehler will give his presentation Mental Health: It鈥檚 Time to Talk.
鈥淭here鈥檚 all this uncertainty with coal miners and guys in the industry, and it鈥檚 causing a lot of strain. It鈥檚 not just with the miners and things like that in terms of career. It鈥檚 also affecting families, and they identified that this mental health issue was one that they figured was important and wanted to address.鈥澛�
It鈥檚 been the transition centre鈥檚 top priority to help the workers deal with this 鈥渦nfortunate, uncertain situation.鈥� 聽
They hope to have more seminars in the future, but that would depend on COVID-19 restrictions. They鈥檝e talked to the Canadian Credit Counselling Society to have a seminar on financial education, covering such topics as retirement planning, debt, drops in income and temporary unemployment. Another presentation would be from Labour Market Services on identifying skills, skill transferability, and identifying gaps in abilities that could be addressed in training. 聽
There will also be a seminar with 小蓝视频east Business Start Up, as some local miners have voiced an interest in potentially becoming entrepreneurs.
The Saskatchewan Coal Transition Centre also has a website now up and running, and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for people to reach out to him.
