Attracting and retaining talent is a significant challenge and opportunity for mining, speakers at Resourcing Tomorrow highlighted.
From the beginning of the conference, industry figures didn’t shy away from addressing the general public’s historically poor perception of mining.
During the keynote fireside chat, Traxys CEO Mark Kristoff asserted: “As an industry, we have done a poor job of public relations. We have an obligation to sing out the praises of the great projects that are impacting society in a very important way.”
The sector’s employment rates have been unstable in 2024. Mining Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, found that hiring activity has seen a quarter-by-quarter decline in 2024, with a 20% drop between the first quarter (Q1) and Q2.
The urgent need to fill the skills gap and change perceptions around mining work was a central message from Resourcing Tomorrow’s opening day. Speakers pointed to the crucial role workers across different disciplines have in driving the new innovative technologies the sector is pursuing.
CITIC Pacific Mining general manager Mark O’Brien said: “With solutions like AI we have been sitting on lots of data but not using it well. Sometimes transformation gets reduced to technology change outs, but I think the real key is changing the way people do things."
“Resilient technology comes down to people,” agreed Rob Labbe from Mining and Metals ISAC. “The willingness and ability to adapt and embrace change is crucial. 70% of innovation projects have their scope impacted by cybersecurity people who don't want to change because the innovation doesn't fit their control model, so they say no and impair the business.”
Having joined the mining industry only six months ago, Endeavour Mining chief information officer Alexis Ternoy provided a fresh assessment of its people management. “Mining is 10–15 years behind other industries, and attitudes need to change to bring younger people in that have their fingers on the pulse of new technology.”
Speaking exclusively to Mining Technology, ABB vice-president of mining Max Luedtke reiterated the role of Generation Z. “The industry has a bad reputation but also a need for more minerals. We need to attract young people with all kinds of skills and make them see that it is good to work in mining as it is the foundation of our society.”
Having gathered data from interviews with 412 industry experts from more than 18 countries, ABB’s keynote address noted that 68% of respondents identified investment in technology as a key means to attract a younger workforce.
“Getting different kinds of people to collaborate will transform this industry from being risk-adverse to achieving the mine of the future,” Luedkte concluded.
