While Jacob & Samuel Drilling Ltd. is in the business of producing accurate, quality core samples, its guiding principles are grounded in respect and dignity.
For company founder and chief financial officer Shannon Bennett, the process of developing client-focused relationships and solutions begins by focusing on its workforce.
Jacob & Samuel Drilling Ltd. is proudly Aboriginal-owned and at its core is its dedication to train and employ an Indigenous workforce. That was Bennett’s “quest” five years ago when she started the company.
Bennett was born in Cold Lake, Alta. Her mother and her family originated from Cold Lake First Nations, while her father was from Flin Flon, Alta. The family moved to Flin Flon when Bennett was one year old and she lived there until she graduated from high school. Growing up, dinnertime conversation often revolved around drilling and mining — two of Bennett’s three older brothers became diamond drillers. Bennett was drawn to her roots and moved to Alberta once she finished high school.
It was her experience here that shaped the businesswoman she would later become.
“In Alberta, a lot of people on the reserves are beaten down,” Bennett said from her office in Sudbury.
“There are high suicide rates and unemployment. I’m trying to help find them jobs that will help with their self-esteem. It’s easier for an Aboriginal to work for an Aboriginal.”
Bennett said she has seen the lives of her own employees change after learning a skill and securing employment.
“They are some of my best employees now,” she said.
“We have helped to change their lives, simply by respecting them, providing them with work and treating them equally.”
Bennett pursued a postsecondary education and a career goal to become an accountant. In this role she moved up the corporate ladder. She was working as chief operations officer for a $79-million gross revenue generating directional drilling company when the owner decided to sell. Bennett took another position in Mexico with a diamond drilling company. Here she met Stephane Cormier, who was part of the management team in Canada. When Bennett decided to go out on her own and start her own company, she invited Cormier to be her partner. He’s the chief operating officer at Jacob & Samuel.
Their first contract was for a Sudbury mining company.
“I had never been to Sudbury before I started my company,” said Bennett. “I moved straight from Mexico to here.”
Since 2012, Bennett and Cormier have developed a network of good clients and have forged relationships with mining companies within the Sudbury District, like Wallbridge Mining, which has kept them busy with work.
Depending on the number of drills it has operating at once, Jacob & Samuel employs anywhere from seven to 27 employees.
Thirty-five per cent of employees are Indigenous and Bennett is aiming for higher, by collaborating with First Nation communities to develop common core training on their land.
She has the signing authority with the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to create a training program, while Cormier is qualified to provide direct training to potential employees.
An Aboriginal training centre would help Bennett secure a good workforce but it would do so much more for First Nation communities.
“If they don’t want to work for me, at least they will be trained at a skill and provide for their family,” she explained.
Bennett is very hands on, and is always on the work site, whether assisting in setup, moving material or troubleshooting.
For her, building relationships with First Nation communities is an integral part of mineral exploration.
She is more than willing to guide chief and councils through the grant process in securing funding to build a training centre.
