SKILL GAP
Filling the talent gap is an issue affecting all industries , but mining is impacted more than others . What is your skills shortage strategy ?
WRITTEN BY : LANRE-PETER ELUFISAN
From the pits of Australia to the coal fields in South Wales , mining companies like BHP , Rio Tinto and others are hunting for workers to fill the labour shortage gap . Mining companies worldwide have warned that a lack of skilled labour in the sector will affect output and reduce production capacity . According to Reuter ' s Factbox , BHP warned that a tight labour market , supply chain snags , and inflationary pressures would continue through fiscal 2023 after it reported a lesser-than-expected iron ore output for the fourth quarter .
Rio Tinto also forewarned that pandemicrelated labour shortages in Western Australia and rising inflation would hit its earnings in the second half . Others like Allkem , the lithium miner and Whitehaven Coal , alerted that labour shortages remain a crucial challenge for their operations .
Despite these issues , the world ' s big miners are optimistic . We can attribute this optimism to the growing call for sustainability , energy transition trends , and other developments triggering demand for selected commodities .
Coming off a decade of challenges and underinvestment , the mining industry now enjoys strong balance sheets and P & Ls . This shows the industry is about to experience growth , even though mining executives must now be proactive about talent and labour shortage .
In Australia , when the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting economies worldwide , the Australian mining and resources industry experienced a surge in activity . The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that employment in the resources sector grew by 8.5 % between February 2020 and November 2020 . However , when countries started closing borders , problems erupted , including the lack of skilled foreign workers and local staff shortages due to travel restrictions , lockdowns , and interstate border closures . This caused many companies to struggle with productivity .
Prolonged border closures added to an already small talent pool to wreak havoc on Australia ' s resources industry , according to Steve Knott , the chief executive officer of Australian Resources and Energy Group .
Mining struggling to attract next generation A 2020 report by Canada ' s Mining Industry Human Resource Council ( MiHR ) revealed that the labour gap is tighter than in other sectors in the country despite earnings in the mining sector increasing ( nearly 40 %) more significantly than the average for all industries in the last decade . This means that for every job vacancy in mining , there were less than three potential job seekers across Canada , compared with the average of six job seekers for every vacancy in other industries . miningdigital . com 9