Future skills shortages are the most critical risk to the mining industry. Transfer of the knowledge and skills required for future positions will be a key factor in maintaining the success of the industry. Currently, mine training is largely failing to keep pace with the advances in technology and automation in the industry and has not addressed the changing learning styles of new generations entering the workforce.
Mine training has advanced significantly over the past two decades as safety and compliance requirements have increased and the cost of equipment, and therefore the cost of damage to equipment has risen substantially. In the past, the majority of mining companies did not have training departments and training activities and records were haphazard. While this has improved significantly, mainly due to compliance requirements, there are still many areas that require improvement in order to avoid future skills shortages.
This paper discussed the advances in mine training and the current state of mine training. Training activities and their effectiveness are discussed, particularly as they relate to new technologies. The paper covers advances in learning technologies and identifies some learning technologies in use and their advantages and disadvantages. It also outlines the requirements for the mining industry to take advantage and use these technologies effectively.
The paper discusses the changing demographics of the workforce and the changes in the nature of future skills that will be required to address new challenges in the mining industry. Training personnel and their required qualifications are discussed, including the structure of training departments, the qualification required by training personnel and how the arrival of future technologies will change the qualifications and knowledge required by training personnel.
The paper also briefly identifies some future training possibilities and how training will be integrated with continuous improvement and maintenance of standards to improve safety and production, not only for the trainee, but for workers with all levels of experience in the industry.