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With commodity prices, especially gold, constantly dropping and production costs at an all-time high, 2013 has seen the most challenging of times for the mining sector in over a decade.
Combine this with companies all looking to save or reduce costs, including internal recruitment drives, and you have a sector where most individuals are reluctant to leave their current role for new opportunities, making for a very stagnant job market for the mining industry as a whole.
Lucy Donald, a Director of WRS with 8 years ‘experience in recruiting for this sector, gives some food for thought on why it could still be a good time to consider a career move, if the right opportunity is on offer, despite the current market challenges. “The feedback we’re getting at WRS, who are a specialist recruiter within the global mining sector, is that most people’s main concern is based on the last in/first out theory – the fear of the unknown new employer and the ever present spectre of surviving any redundancy programmes if they were to move to a new organisation.” But she also sees light at the end of the tunnel.
Lucy points out that the industry does still require some very niche skills and these are not always easy to come by.
“What most people are not looking at is the Life Of Mine on some of the key projects around right now. The fact that, even in these tough times, there are still some very specialist skill sets that these companies are struggling to find. So, if you have them it really is worth considering if a move could actually be right for you, even in the current climate.”
So what are the industry’s main recruitment challenges regarding sourcing skills right now? Lucy confirms, “If your experience is in a niche discipline such as mining engineering, planning, or you work within a process department, we are currently working with organisations where its business critical for them to fill positions requiring experience within these areas. It is also worth noting that candidates who are getting the offers right now are those who can demonstrate examples of where they have added value to their employers in previous years, as well as those who can think on more of a strategic basis.”
WRS was built on the USP of ‘finding the talent others can’t’ and embraced the more difficult to fill roles that others couldn’t source the right talent for. Lucy expands on this, “Through this approach, we have built some of our strongest, long standing relationships with major players within the global mining industry, who continue to give us repeat business to this day. This strong reputation for delivery has in turn allowed us to develop a network which includes some of the finest mining professionals in the industry, as well as attaining a level of trust that has ensured even passive candidates are interested in talking to us about potential opportunities for career progression.”
In summary, while it is without doubt a challenging time for the worldwide mining community, there is opportunity to progress – even if it is into the ‘unknown’ territory of working for a new organisation. Lucy sums it up succinctly, “Just have faith in your skills and the experience you can offer in your specialist discipline and you’ll see that making a move into a new opportunity in a tough market could just be the best decision you could make for the next step in your career.”
