Evolve workforce strategy to close skill and talent gaps in mining and metals

Authored by: Shane Monte, EY Partner, People Advisory Services

Elevate mining workforce: Close skills gaps, embrace digital upskilling, and future proof talent with EY insights. Seize opportunities in the evolving mining and metals landscape. 

In brief

• Skills and access to talent continue to be critical to the mining sector in 2023.

• Traditional approaches to reskilling are not keeping up with the pace of change and the implications of digital innovation and adoption.

• Companies that embrace a multi-dimensional approach through industry partnerships, accelerated reskilling efforts and data/digital approaches are achieving better outcomes and making the workforce ready for the future. 

There’s little question that widening skill gaps pose real risks but also create new opportunities for mining and metals companies investing in technology. Companies that rethink reskilling approaches and maximize the use of real-time data and workforce insights are better positioned to seize these opportunities now and in the future.

Across the mining and metals space, leaders see access to the skills of the future — and the ongoing talent shortage — as priorities. In a recent EY article released Top 10 Business risks and opportunities for mining and metals, skills development and the overall talent agenda once again make the list. In fact, some human resources executives continue to view upskilling as the number-one priority that needs to be embedded into their DNA.

What does that look like from day to day? Mining companies around the world are searching for the skills they need today in addition to those most likely to be in demand three to five years from now. At the same time, traditional operations are going digital and accelerating the need for new kinds of talent altogether. One report prepared for the Minerals Council of Australia showed technology adoption and innovation could result in up to 23% of roles being automated, as many as 35% need redesign and the remaining 42% are enhanced by the use of technology.

These are real challenges, made more complicated by the fact that today’s approach to management, training and development aren’t keeping up with the pace of change. At EY, we see these scenarios playing out in real time. As we analyze roles across the mining value chain, the need to automate, digitize and transition to a sustainable future continue to emerge as crucial.

More and more often, we’re seeing traditional talent strategies of “buying” or “borrowing” talent fall short, requiring fresh thinking. That’s due in part to the fact that the emerging skills mining needs next are in demand by all companies in all sectors. Meanwhile, the industry is still seeing a drop in enrollment across post-secondary mining programs.

In this landscape, mining operators must consider a multi-dimensional approach to identifying future talent needs, prioritizing integrated reskilling, and rethinking people management practices and systems. Human resources and operational leaders can prepare for what’s coming by working collaboratively to challenge existing thinking and try new approaches. How? 

1. Seek to understand future skill needs and capability gaps. Predicting the future has always been difficult, but it’s necessary to ensure that your workforce is ready. At EY, we help companies through this process using Skills Foundry, a tool designed to provide insights into the changing nature of roles across the sector to help organizations understand what skills are in demand. It provides a benchmark of the critical skills and capabilities that are anticipated over the next three to five years. While diagnostic approaches typically look at current needs and capability gaps, we use Skills Foundry to gaze into the future and anticipate the new skills that will be required.

2.     Increase investments in digital capabilities and technologies by building adaptive, digital-era skills in parallel. The World Economic Forum estimates that 44% of skills will be disrupted in the next five years due to rapid digitization, creating an urgent need for upskilling and reskilling. Read more about it in this piece by EY’s Alexandra Lee. Failing to encourage a new generation of mining and metals workers to play a meaningful part in tech transitions would be a missed opportunity for companies looking to succeed in this space. Putting humans at the centre and consciously investing in fostering leadership and adaptive skills for the digital era empower your people to make the very most of technology. When that shift takes place, the business stands to gain, and you become more likely to realize all the benefits that technology can provide while simultaneously preparing the workforce for future operations.

3. Be prepared to redesign people management practices and build a future-ready workforce. Significant investments in digital and technological innovation also require the rethink of people management practices outside of just reskilling. For example, when you invest in semi-autonomous operations technology, you must also refresh job profiles as well as processes for skill building and ways of working. Most roles will require knowledge of automated and digitalized processes and how artificial intelligence and machine learning will affect these roles. At the same time, collaboration, stakeholder engagement and data analysis skills will always be important. Legacy approaches to HR management and training may not hold up in this environment. Rethinking these areas can help you enable better outcomes from every tech investment you make.

4. Better understand and monitor workforce capabilities, skills and upskilling efforts. It’s not enough to close skills gaps today and move on. Organizations need a means of monitoring workforce skill levels to ensure they continue to align with future business needs. It’s important for leaders to maintain awareness of existing and future skills development. Micro-learning and reskilling badges are becoming an important way to build capabilities quickly. But skill and credential updates must be made available and visible in real time from both the organizational and individual perspectives so teams can tap into capabilities right away. Digital wallets have become an effective tool for this. EY Skills Foundry and workforce analytics solutions can also provide insights to map, develop and build an adaptive workforce of the future, while providing visibility into existing credentials.