At the recent Latin America Down Under Conference in Perth Western Australia, international HR Consulting firm Globe 24-7 hosted an industry panel on Community Engagement, Skills Transfer, Training and Sustainable Employment in the Latin American mining industry. Additional to the panel, a conference survey was produced seeking to uncover delegate views and thoughts on Australian mining companies operating in the region and encouragingly, Australian mining companies are on the front foot.
The survey found that almost 90% of participants agreed that Australian mining companies do a ‘good job’ engaging with local communities and are very strong at Local Employment, building Infrastructure and developing Training Programs. There is a widely held view that the overall mining industry could do more to upskill local workers with Frontline Management & Supervisory skills being identified as the highest need although Australian mining companies are viewed very positively in regards to their reputation for implementing training programs. There is a definite preference towards local employment vs expatriate employment in Latin America with the majority of respondents agreeing that even if a local worker holds only 70% – 90% of the desired skillset, then they should receive the employment opportunity and developing long-term & sustainable community employment and education are key issues facing mining companies.
Whilst building a mine in a remote location is an incredibly difficult and complex task, the general sentiment is that Australian mining companies have a good reputation for identifying, developing and upskilling local workforce which bodes well for a long and prosperous future in this developing mining region.
Full survey results can be found in the ‘Globe 24-7 HR Mini-Report: The People Puzzle – Mining Talent for Mining Companies’
About Globe 24-7
Globe 24-7 (Globe) has been conducting human resources consulting and search assignments for local and international mining, power, manufacturing and oil and gas companies around the world for over a decade. Globe has offices in the major markets of the world to ensure consulting assignments and search campaigns are effectively managed at both site and corporate locations and has grown internationally to now service small, mid-tier and large-scale companies through its project recruitment, search, HR consulting and HR Systems divisions.