Creating the next generation of quarry professionals

Overview

The results above are sobering. At the exact time that our industry comes under increased pressure to move towards zero carbon and needs to embrace new technologies such as?digital transformation?and?resource optimisation, the skilled resource technical professionals needed to make them a reality will likely not be available to us.

Despite the fact that we live in an age where children are exposed to technology from the time they can hold a device in their hands. our industry struggles to interest, attract, pay and retain the professionals it will need to build the quarries of the future - so what to do?

Why does the industry need to change?

It's easy to forget that the reason the mining industry employs so many surveyors, geologists, geotechnical and mining engineers (resource professionals) is because the deposits they extract have become more and more difficult.

Our industry is facing the challenges of sustainability, increasingly difficult deposits to extract and increased community and regulator focus - things can't just continue to be done the same way as they were in the past.?Digital transformation will be the key to the future.

Likewise, as we move towards semi-autonomous and autonomous extraction, the need to have a clear plan and schedule will become more and more important - an autonomous machine has to follow a plan and it has to be the right plan.

To make this transformation, the construction materials industry will either have to compete for increasingly scarce professional resources (and potentially sky-high salaries) or upskill the people they have. A likely way forward is a combination of both strategies.

Strategies for change

First and foremost, digital transformation is vital, as is the need to put in place the data management systems, software, equipment and workflows needed by resource professionals to plan and control their operations.

We need to have senior resource professionals within the business who can mentor and guide younger generation along the way. Hiring them and throwing them into the fray with no defined systems, tools or mentorship is a recipe for disaster.

Lastly, we need to identify and promote to the people that we want to hire, that quarries are tech savvy, exciting and rewarding places to work - not just "turning big rocks into small ones".

Summary

We believe that creating the next generation of quarry resource professionals (and upskilling the current one) are vital to the success of our industry. We are passionate in our belief in the importance of this approach and in researching and developing the tools to make them a reality.

For more information, please contact Steve Franklin on steve.franklin@cemagg.com or +61 474 183 939 or go to cemagg.com

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