Welcome Vac - Students settle in for Glencore’s summer vacation program

Across Queensland Metals operations, Glencore recently welcomed 54 vacation students to our Mount Isa Mines, Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) and Townsville Copper Refinery sites.

For many university students, Glencore’s Vacation Student Program is their first taste of the resources industry and the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned through their university studies in a working mine environment.

The Vacation Student Program is one of the many pathway programs offered by Glencore, aimed at enriching learning experiences and growing talent. It provides paid, on-the-job work placement to students studying full-time at university.

Glencore employs students in roles such as metallurgy, engineering, accounting, information technology, human resources and many other mining-related disciplines across Mount Isa Mine, George Fisher Mine, EHM and Townsville Copper Refinery sites.

Administration and labouring positions are also available for local students returning home for their end of year break who study disciplines unrelated to mining.

While onsite, participants work on supervised projects and are assisted with day-to-day tasks, building experience as well as on-the-job knowledge.

As well as providing valuable practical experience, the Vacation Student Program affords students the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, with many past participants successfully securing employment through Glencore’s Graduate Program.

Undertaking his second placement on the Vacation Program, Joshua Soley has been given the chance to work directly in his Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering field of study with the Concentrator Metallurgy team at EHM located near Cloncurry.

“As a metallurgy student, vacation work is something that is encouraged from the moment you start your degree, but Glencore’s Vacation Student Program particularly stuck out due to the rich history of mining and their technological advancements that were made because of these operations,” says Joshua.

“My first placement was focused on getting a keen technical knowledge of how the concentrator worked, getting to know the people and how it was run, and how I could possibly make it better. This time around, I am looking to focus more on what I would be expected to do if I was a full-time employee here.”

“The best thing about the Vacation Student Program is the exposure and freedom you get from working on projects and tasks that have an impact on the current state as well as the future state of the mine site.”

“This experience is unparalleled from anything that is taught in a classroom and can give you a big head start in your professional career,” Joshua says.

Queensland Metals Group Manager for Human Resources, Clint Milner, says the Vacation Student Program is designed to provide professional development opportunities to individuals who are completing their studies.

“Being able to implement knowledge obtained from university into real-world situations provides a great sense of accomplishment for participants,” says Clint.

“Students get the opportunity to gain insight and understanding of what it’s like to work at an operational mine, and the chance to decide whether the resource industry is right for them.”

“I wish to thank our vacation students for all their hard work and we hope this experience provides a stepping-stone towards a graduate career at Glencore,” Clint says.

We will bid a fond farewell to this year’s intake of vacation students with placements coming to an end in mid-February.