Solving the Mining Education Crisis
ln the last post we discussed the impacts of career instability on the mining talent pipeline. While this instability is by no means the only factor affecting people’s desire for a job in the industry, the result is the same - a lack of qualified professionals in mining related subjects, and a lack of new students to fill those roles. In this post, we discuss what can be done to feed the talent funnel at the wide end.
The mining industry is in an existential crisis due to a lack of skilled employees, a critical ongoing concern for senior mining executives (McKinsey 2022). The reasons for this are complex, however in this post we will endeavor to unpick the gordian knot ofthe talent crisis. As we discussed in the previous post, one issue is that existing advocates, i.e. those in the industry are being turned away from the mining industry due to the cyclical nature of boom and bust. The other source of workers, those without an existing relationship with the industry, are potentially new clients, and must be approached this way. Those outside the industry, however are disuaded by mining checkered past: Deloitte says Perceptions [of mining] remain largely tied to the past with iron ore and coal closely linked to heavy industry, and ESG issues such as pollution, environmental degradation, mining accidents and local community issues.
This double whammy of anti-mining sentiment from those outside the industry, but also those dissuaded from a career in mining due to it’s inerent instability caused by boom and bust industry responses to metal price fluctuations are both cutting off supply of geologists, mining engineers and mineral processors: They are becoming as critical as the minerals they help to extract.
“Perceptions remain largely tied to the past with iron ore and coal closely linked to...pollution, environmental degradation, mining accidents and local community issues. ”
An example from the UK
London is a key hub for global investment with several mining majors listed in the LSE, and the UK hosts some of the world’s oldest mining colleges, The Camborne and Royal Schools of Mines (CSM and RSM respectively), lauded by those in the mining profession, yet in the last decades we see push back against mining investment, Student’s Unions move to block O&G and Mining recruitment including Oxford, UCL, and Surrey amongst others, and we see reduced demand for mining related courses due to the prevailing anti-extraction sentiment described above. The closure of the CSM mining course caused a stir in the LinkedIn mining community, but one has to ask what had the outraged folks had done previously to attract people to that course?
What mining companies supported the course, and what outreach activities were undertaken by miners to show teenagers making critical life choices that extraction was a viable and rewarding career pathway, and that it was necessary for the future? In my experience of UK mining education in 2010, there were zero scholarships provided to undergraduates from mining companies, and a single postgraduate geoscience scholarship of £10,000 was provided by Rio Tinto, then divided between 2 students. The only direct interaction that was had with miners was a once yearly short talk and a pint to try and lure students into summer projects, or hire 3rd years. Compare this with my undergraduate at Leeds, where Shell provided 2x £6,000 no strings scholarships to UK students provided they took petroleum related modules, and other O&G companies gave a free ride scholarship to 7-8 international students on my course on the condition of 3years service with the company afterwards That’s a minimum investment of £15,000, per year, per student, but a guaranteed employee.
With no investment at the top of the funnel, don’t be surprised when your pipeline dries up.
This is by no means typical of the industry - more mining-centric countries such as Australia has a much greater interaction between mining company and university, and yet still see the same slow down and collapse of extractive courses.
We know that minerals are not the only resources required by mining companies. They also need manpower, whether that be mining engineers, geologists, or electrical and software engineers as automation increases. If public perception is generally against mining, the job is undesirable. The result is that outlandish salaries must be paid to attract top talent to the industry. Why accept this when for a fraction of the cost you can support students at University entry.
My argument is that it would probably be cheaper to advertise a little and
How to fix things (maybe):
Scholarships.
In my example with Leeds above, O&G companies have done this for decades, and it works. They fund a student through university, and they get an employee for a set minimum term of employment. The £15,000 or so they have to spend on this student (in 2006 terms) will be more than likely made back by a company within a year on paying a graduate salary. In 2023, the average UK student leaves university with £45,000 of debt. A £45,000 investment in a student on the condition they work for your company for 3 years seems like a no brainer, and I don’t know why miners aren’t doing it extensively. The promise of leaving university with no debt and a guaranteed good job would be alluring to a lot of people, and might draw them from other fields.
Perception of the Mining industry.
Watch this video.
The Shell #MakeTheFuture campaign aired in 2000/2001 on UK primetime TV. It showcased several careers within the O&G companies that people maybe didn’t know existed. There are several more videos showing what Engineers can do at the company and how it can help build a better world. Whether you believe the effort is sincere or not, one cannot qustion that the effort has been made. Miners can take a page from this book and go on the media offensive, rather than reacting to whatever the most recent environmental PR crisis is.
Collaborate to smooth out boom and bust cycles.
Maybe the hardest for a company to swallow, but everyone can coexist and work together. What is in the interests of one company may be in the interests of all. Once again, we look to the oil industry who have been through all this before. OPEC (The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is “an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit.” It’s all about profit, they don’t try to hide it, but they work together to try and stabilise price fluctuations, agreeing to set production limits. Whether they stick to them or not is another matter. The level of governance and organisation required for the latter from ever occurring.
To conclude, the mining industry is facing a huge challenge in recruiting and retaining skilled workers, with the primary challlenge being it’s global perception dissuading peope to pursue extractive related subjects. Some of the solutuons to this are quite simple, but require spending money. Considering that this money will have to be spent on higher salaries anyway, as the staff shortages worsen, organisation of an extensice scholarship programme seems a no brainer.