Who we are

Northern Manitoba’s hydro, mining and forestry companies need skilled workers right now to help them produce their products and ship them around the world. And they’ll need many more in the years to come.

Where will most of these skilled workers come from? Forward North strongly believes the answer is: from right here in northern Manitoba! Northern Manitoba’s population is growing, and many people in northern communities want to stay, work and raise their families in the north – people who may also be looking for ways to upgrade their education and job skills.

That’s where Forward North comes in. Forward North works on behalf of the Northern Manitoba Sector Council, which includes seven mining, forestry and hydro companies that operate in northern Manitoba: Crowflight Minerals Inc., Garson Gold Corp., HudBay Minerals Inc., Vale Inco, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Tolko Industries Ltd. and Manitoba Hydro. We help match these companies’ needs for skilled workers with trained people able to fill those jobs.

How we work

Forward North does not actually plan and deliver training programs itself. First, we get a very clear idea from our Northern Manitoba Sector Council companies what types of skilled workers they’ll need, how many, and when.

Then we work with many different universities, colleges and training institutes to help them put on the training programs that will meet our companies’ needs. We also work closely with different government departments to help make sure the educational institutions have the money they need to offer the training our member companies have asked for.

Who benefits?

Our member companies, because having highly skilled workers helps them stay competitive.

The skilled workers these companies hire, because they can earn a very good living as well as stay in northern Manitoba.

All Manitobans, because our forestry, hydro and mining companies already contribute $6 billion to the provinicial economy every year!

For further information please contact:

Doug Lauvstad, Executive Director
Northern Manitoba Sector Council
Box 2550, The Pas Provincial Building
79 3rd Street West
The Pas, MB R9A 1M7

Phone: (204) 627-8511
Fax: (204) 627-8236
Cell: (204) 623-0658
email: dlauvstad@ucn.ca