Mining’s inability to attract talent an existential crisis: report

Recruitment

July 17, 2023

Mining’s global skills shortage is such a problem for the industry it’s "nearly an existential challenge", according to a new report.

Mining’s global skills shortage is such a problem for the industry it’s “nearly an existential challenge”, according to a new report.

PwC’s Mine 2023 report found the industry is battling against a massive image problem, as “many of the most sought-after workers do not see the industry as attractive”.

The Mine 2023 report brings in data from a wide range of sources, including a 2020 study from Canada’s Mining Industry Resources Council, which asked young workers (aged 15 to 30) how likely they were to consider a career in a range of sectors. The chart below shows the percentage of respondents who chose “definitely would not” and “probably would not”.

These results are emblematic of the problem the industry faces all over the world.

While the existing and ongoing skills shortage won’t come as any surprise to anyone working in the industry, the above is a warning that the problem is not going to get any better unless we can broaden the pipeline of talent.

The bottom line on the skills shortage

PwC’s 26^th Annual Global CEO Survey found almost two-thirds of mining CEOs believe that skills shortages will have a large or very large impact on profitability over the next ten years.

Investment in technology may help plug some of the gaps. The growth in autonomous haul trucks is one example of an area where labour can be effectively replaced by tech. But that presents its own problems—the industry must then be able to attract workers with skills in robotics, automation and data analytics, which are skills that are even harder to come across and are in higher demand across industries.

“Seventy-three per cent of companies (surveyed by the World Economic Forum in 2020) named skills gaps in the local labour market as the biggest barrier to adopting new technology,” PwC’s report says. “With many mine sites operating in remote locations, successful retraining of local workers is likely to be critical.”

Retraining and retaining

PwC’s report also suggests retraining existing employees may be a solution to help retain some talent within the industry, while focusing on diversity and inclusion in company culture will also be “critical for attracting talent”.

“The case for gender diversity in mining is solid,” PwC’s analysts said. “One recent study by BHP showed that teams composed of both men and women were more productive and more engaged, and that they operated more safely.

“Such teams delivered an average of 67% lower total recordable-injury frequency and saw improved company culture, with a 21% greater sense of company pride, than teams composed solely of men.

“What’s more, the top 40 mining companies are largely aligned around the idea of increasing gender diversity. In a review of the most recent sustainability reports published by the top 40, we found that around two-thirds had set targets for the representation of women at some level of the organisation.”

According to the International Labour Organisation, just 14% of mining jobs worldwide are held by women.

Steps to take on diversity and inclusion

PwC’s analyst argued that to attract diverse talent and achieve the benefits of an inclusive workforce, miners should consider taking these actionable steps:

Understand the state of diversity and inclusion in your business by gathering data and creating transparency with stakeholders
Embrace technology to remove barriers brought about by the remote location of many mine sites and allow a more accessible working environment
Build a strategy that highlights diversity and inclusion as a priority and embeds it throughout the organisation; communicate how it directly affects the bottom line
Generate buy-in from leaders throughout the business; ensure that the tone at the top is aligned with the stated purpose.

MPI has nearly 30 years’ specialist experience helping mining companies find the best candidates across every job category. Find out more here or get in touch today.

by Dan Hatch

Think geos are hard to find now? It’s only going to get worse

Recruitment

Solar panels in Australian mining industry.

Where has the mining industry improved or fallen behind?