IAMGOLD is building a future with young talent

Even before she started working at IAMGOLD Corp. a year ago, Julie Nguyen wanted to make sure that the company was a good fit. The mining firm, which has operations in Ontario, Québec and Africa, is explicit about its corporate values, which include excellence, transparency and innovation along with a strong emphasis on respect, diversity and safety.

“A lot of companies have a vision or mission statement,” says Nguyen, director of ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting and governance. “But I find it more insightful during an interview to ask what the culture is like. Are you living and breathing those values?

“What I like about mining,” she continues, “is that while you’re generating value for the business, you’re also creating value for communities and mitigating your impact on the environment. It was important to me to understand IAMGOLD’s practices around sustainability, about diversity and inclusion and environmental responsibility.

“I think for a lot of my generation and the younger generation it’s about making an impact, and that’s important to me.”

“Our values are the foundation of our workplace culture,” says Dorena Quinn, senior vice president of people at IAMGOLD. “Our people live and breathe these values, whether they’re on-site or in the office. They’re weaved into our onboarding, our talent management practices, the way we communicate – every aspect of the work we do.”

Nguyen, who has degrees in biology and sustainable energy development and worked for both industry and in consulting, thinks that there are plenty of roles at a mining company like IAMGOLD that young people and students might not know suit their skills and qualifications.

Besides engineering and technical skills, she points out the need for people trained in human resources and finance, and in environmental specialties like herself. “What IAMGOLD is doing is asking, ‘Where’s the untapped talent, and how can we raise the level of awareness about careers in mining?’”

Quinn talks about a “broad sweep of skills” the company looks for, and how “there’s a vast skillset in the schools that mining companies need, but it may be unknown.”

“We are investing heavily in the future of the company,” Quinn says. “We’re in schools, we’re in the communities, and we’re talking to young professionals about mining, but also about the linkages between what they’re learning and what they can contribute to our sector.

“Skills retention in mining is absolutely critical, and one of the levers we adopt is career development to create a learning path for employees so they’re ready for the challenges of the future.”

Nguyen describes the company’s fleet of autonomous trucks, working at its Côté Gold mine near Gogama, Ont., as a technological breakthrough that enhances safety and frees up talent to work elsewhere in the operation.

As well, she notes, the company is part of industry associations such as the Mining Association of Canada and the World Gold Council that “pushes the industry to improve their sustainability performance.”

“The culture at IAMGOLD is collaborative. We bring people together to solve problems,” Nguyen says. “When I’ve seen opportunities to improve our practices, my ideas have been heard and there have been changes. It feels great to make an impact.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 3, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.