29
mining engineering graduates to the future of the mining industry. These graduates provide
the significant ‘thinking’ skills and injection of appropriate innovation and technology, during both the Project’s Prefeasibility and Feasibility stages, and for operational delivery.
The mining profession, from education, R&D and innovation, to exploration, is changing in ways other industries (including manufacturing) already have. The major players have
recognised this, with some already pioneering new technology and methods, benefitting not
only themselves, but also the industry, society and the world at large.
To be in this race Africa needs the institutions, equipment, research and funding, to develop
and harness the tremendous potential of the human talent pool and natural resources it has
been blessed with.
5 THE DECLINE OF MINING ENGINEERS IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD
Mining engineering and associated skills are and continue to be in decline, with this being
again illustrated by Stacey et al. [14], showing that the world’s mining engineering education
and research sphere was in crisis. This skills shortage problem in mining engineering and
related disciplines is not new, though has continued to deteriorate for much too long and has
reached crisis levels in some countries.
The skills shortage in Australia appears to be one of the worst affected, with the Mineral
Council of Australia already predicting in 2014 the need for an additional 86,000 mining
professionals and skilled mine workers by 2020 [9].
A list of employment statistics (1982 to 2015) from Graduate Careers Australia [15] showed
that mining engineers were the most employable and highest paid engineers, so money does
not appear to be the issue.
Although the mining and resources sector accounts for two-thirds of the Australia’s export
income, young Australians are not currently very keen to join the industry.
In 2017, 171 people were expected to graduate from Australian mining engineering courses,
which is to fall to 98 this year (2018), with the numbers predicted to fall further by 2020 [15].
North America has not been immune to the shortages, with data from the Canadian Mining Industry Human Resources Council indicating that 40% of the professional and technical component of the mining workforce was at least 50 years old already in 2014, and that
one-third of those workers were eligible to retire by 2015 [9]. There is already a ‘missing
generation’ in the mining sector, with most employees over 50 or under 35. In the USA,
specialised geoscience programmes at colleges and university have fallen from a high of 25 in
1982 to 14 in 2014, from which only 11% of undergraduates and 4% of postgraduates chose
to go into mining [9]. A HSBC 2014 report noted that “50% of U.S. geoscience professionals,
including engineers, are just 10–15 years from retirement”, which is mirrored in Canada and
South Africa [9].
Canada has had some recent success in addressing its own skills shortage, with mining and
minerals engineering programmes being the fastest growing engineering disciplines between
2009 and 2013 at +56%. Latest figures for 2016 unfortunately also showed the greatest decline,
with enrolment down 11.8%. The recent overall successes of education in Canada may mean
that students graduating might experience increased difficulty in procuring entry level jobs
and internships within the sector [5]. The mining sector must work hard in a joint effort with
academic institutions to address this situation before it leads to another “lost generation” in
the industry. These trends are illustrated in Figure 4 below.
Reliance on external skills will prove ever costlier and more difficult to obtain, and as
mines cannot operate without mining engineers, who are required for regulatory as well as
practical purposes, the implications are clear.
Reasons for the decline are varied, but the solutions are clear, if Africa is to reach its full
potential in multiplying the mineral wealth so generously bestowed upon it, then local mining
education and research must be seen to be a critical component for achieving this. Through
sufficient government and industry support and assistance, African tertiary institutions will
be able to provide the skills, expertise and research in support of these objectives.
mining engineering graduates to the future of the mining industry. These graduates provide
the significant ‘thinking’ skills and injection of appropriate innovation and technology, during both the Project’s Prefeasibility and Feasibility stages, and for operational delivery.
The mining profession, from education, R&D and innovation, to exploration, is changing in ways other industries (including manufacturing) already have. The major players have
recognised this, with some already pioneering new technology and methods, benefitting not
only themselves, but also the industry, society and the world at large.
To be in this race Africa needs the institutions, equipment, research and funding, to develop
and harness the tremendous potential of the human talent pool and natural resources it has
been blessed with.
5 THE DECLINE OF MINING ENGINEERS IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD
Mining engineering and associated skills are and continue to be in decline, with this being
again illustrated by Stacey et al. [14], showing that the world’s mining engineering education
and research sphere was in crisis. This skills shortage problem in mining engineering and
related disciplines is not new, though has continued to deteriorate for much too long and has
reached crisis levels in some countries.
The skills shortage in Australia appears to be one of the worst affected, with the Mineral
Council of Australia already predicting in 2014 the need for an additional 86,000 mining
professionals and skilled mine workers by 2020 [9].
A list of employment statistics (1982 to 2015) from Graduate Careers Australia [15] showed
that mining engineers were the most employable and highest paid engineers, so money does
not appear to be the issue.
Although the mining and resources sector accounts for two-thirds of the Australia’s export
income, young Australians are not currently very keen to join the industry.
In 2017, 171 people were expected to graduate from Australian mining engineering courses,
which is to fall to 98 this year (2018), with the numbers predicted to fall further by 2020 [15].
North America has not been immune to the shortages, with data from the Canadian Mining Industry Human Resources Council indicating that 40% of the professional and technical component of the mining workforce was at least 50 years old already in 2014, and that
one-third of those workers were eligible to retire by 2015 [9]. There is already a ‘missing
generation’ in the mining sector, with most employees over 50 or under 35. In the USA,
specialised geoscience programmes at colleges and university have fallen from a high of 25 in
1982 to 14 in 2014, from which only 11% of undergraduates and 4% of postgraduates chose
to go into mining [9]. A HSBC 2014 report noted that “50% of U.S. geoscience professionals,
including engineers, are just 10–15 years from retirement”, which is mirrored in Canada and
South Africa [9].
Canada has had some recent success in addressing its own skills shortage, with mining and
minerals engineering programmes being the fastest growing engineering disciplines between
2009 and 2013 at +56%. Latest figures for 2016 unfortunately also showed the greatest decline,
with enrolment down 11.8%. The recent overall successes of education in Canada may mean
that students graduating might experience increased difficulty in procuring entry level jobs
and internships within the sector [5]. The mining sector must work hard in a joint effort with
academic institutions to address this situation before it leads to another “lost generation” in
the industry. These trends are illustrated in Figure 4 below.
Reliance on external skills will prove ever costlier and more difficult to obtain, and as
mines cannot operate without mining engineers, who are required for regulatory as well as
practical purposes, the implications are clear.
Reasons for the decline are varied, but the solutions are clear, if Africa is to reach its full
potential in multiplying the mineral wealth so generously bestowed upon it, then local mining
education and research must be seen to be a critical component for achieving this. Through
sufficient government and industry support and assistance, African tertiary institutions will
be able to provide the skills, expertise and research in support of these objectives.