A national skills shortage. A home grown solution. What's the connection?
Media statement
A next generation of mining engineers are being trained by the best as part of McArthur River Mining’s (MRM) new Mining Engineering Cadetship program.
The program sees nine locally recruited and based cadets work at the Northern Territory operation while completing an Associate Degree in Mining through the Western Australia School of Mines (WASM) in Kalgoorlie, catapulting them headfirst into a career in mining.
On completion of the program, the cadets will be offered ongoing employment at the mine and have the choice to further their studies in engineering.
A one of the first in the Territory, the three-year program provides cadets with firsthand experience on what it takes to be a mining engineer, where they learn from mentors who have walked a similar path to them.
One of these mentors is General Manager Steven Rooney who also studied mining engineering at WASM.
“Having completed the degree myself I know how important on the job training is, particularly in the mining industry. You can spend all the time in the world learning theory and this is important, but the real lessons start the minute you step foot on site,” said Steven.
“When designing the program, we placed a huge emphasis on mentorship and on the job learning.”
The unique program has the cadets working on site on a two-week on two-week off basis with their study woven into their time on and off site. The cadets gain experience in mining operations and mine technical services, shadowing the day to day duties of mining engineers while on site.
“This program is one of a kind. We are taking locals and giving them the right experience to complement their studies and offering full-time jobs at the end. We want these skills to stay in the Territory and at MRM,” he said.
“Quite simply, we are building a pipeline of world-class employees to work at our world-class mine.”
For former MRM Truck Trainee and current cadet Kyle Wagner, the cadetship program is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I was working at MRM and saw the opportunity for the cadetship come up. I’d done my traineeship for trucking and thought why not try something else and go for this,” Kyle said.
“It is an unbelievable opportunity.”
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For further information, please contact:
Media
Tracy Jones
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Notes for editors
Glencore
Glencore is one of the world’s largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities. The Group's operations comprise over 150 mining and metallurgical sites and oil production assets.
With a strong footprint in over 35 countries in both established and emerging regions for natural resources, Glencore's industrial activities are supported by a global network of more than 30 marketing offices.
Glencore's customers are industrial consumers, such as those in the automotive, steel, power generation, battery manufacturing and oil sectors. We also provide financing, logistics and other services to producers and consumers of commodities. Glencore’s companies employ around 160,000 people, including contractors.
Glencore is proud to be a member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the International Council on Mining and Metals. We are an active participant in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
McArthur River Mining
McArthur River Mining (MRM) is located in the Northern Territory approximately 970 kilometres south-east from Darwin and 60 kilometres south-west of its closest town of Borroloola. MRM mines one of the world’s largest zinc and lead deposits. Established as an underground operation in 1995, MRM converted to open pit mining in 2006. MRM produces zinc and lead in concentrates which are primarily exported through Bing Bong loading facility on the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The current mine life extends to 2036.
The mine provides direct employment to about 1,000 people, including contractors. In 2018, we spent $84.7 million on wages, $59.4 million on capital projects, $321.4 million on goods and services – much of which we sourced locally – and $1.8 million on community investment projects.