TRANSACTION PAPER

Technical skills - a major strategic issue

T.R. Stacey^I; J. Hadjigeorgiou^II; Y. Potvin^III

^IUniversity of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
^IIUniversité Laval, Canada
^IIIAustralian Centre for Geomechanics, Australia

SYNOPSIS

A shortage of technical skills in all areas of the mining industry is being experienced worldwide. This has significant consequences for design, operations, productivity and safety and, therefore, needs to be seriously addressed, both in the short and longer term. It is therefore both a strategic and a tactical issue. Importantly, however, since mining is a long-term business, the shortage of skills must be dealt with from a strategic point of view to ensure the supply of the necessary skills for future mining. This paper will deal specifically with the provision of high level technical skills, that is, university graduates in mining engineering, and the outlook for the institutions that are currently producing such graduates.

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