The discussion, chaired by Katlego Letsoalo, monitoring and evaluation specialist at the Minerals Council South Africa, covered the following topics:

• What does the future of work in mining look like; what skills, attitudes and values are required?
• How can young people get into mining and what are the required skills?
• How should companies partner more closely with universities? How can universities and mining companies increase the appeal and image of the industry to recruit and retain the best minds and skills?
• How does the industry ensure its sustainability and innovation from a human capital perspective?
• Converting theory to practice and the role of academia in giving you a career boost: How are students adequately equipped for the real world and success in mining?
• The promise and challenges of youth employment – the rise of web-based skills acquisition and the gig economy
• What employers hire for: practical advice for job seekers

Other members of the panel included Prof Caroline Digby, Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town and the University of the Witwatersrand, Nichole McCulloch, Managing Director at Clifton Hill Associates, Obone Sepato, a project geophysicist at Anglo American, Sthembiso Phakathi, Consulting Director of Human Capital at Deloitte, and Vanisha Balgobind, Executive Head of Human Resources at Exxaro Resources.

From the panel discussion, it was evident that leadership development is a key need for young graduates, and that exposure to leadership at University level is no longer a “nice to have”, but a “have to have”. According to Prof Webber-Youngman, the challenges associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which need to take account of the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment in which prospective mining engineers will be operating when they enter the job market, makes attention to leadership development in the training of young graduates even more important.

“It was the overall sentiment of the panel members that industry collaboration and association with universities has become an important aspect in aligning industry needs and expectations with university programmes,” said Prof Webber-Youngman. “Achieving a common goal for industry and academia in terms of dealing with challenges needs to be the order of the day.”

Thanks to a sponsorship from Harmony Gold, five of the Department of Mining Engineering’s postgraduate students were granted the opportunity to attend the Mining Indaba 2020. Photographed at the Indaba (from left) are Mr Mashego Mashego (Executive Director: Stakeholder Relations and Corporate Affairs, Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd), Sphephile Dludlu, Mesuli Mahlangu, Jennifer van der Walt, Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman (Head of Department), Bheki Mkalipi and Thomas Oates. 

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