Reflections: Why are the youth shunning mining?

by Ng Chin Chye, Marketing and Communications Lead, Critical Minerals Association

Being at our various Critical Minerals Association Events across the globe the past year, one perennial topic kept coming up during discussions between presenters and attendees - why are the younger generation not joining the mining sector?

As one attendee jokingly put it, 'Look around the conference and count how many grey haired individuals are here and you will see why we have a talent pipeline problem in the mining sector'.

This appears to be a challenge that surfaces across different continents. From America, Europe, Africa, Asia to Australia, there is a growing urgency to tackle this problem.

Attendees often point out to the dwindling enrollment or shutting down of mining and geological courses at universities as a reason for the shortfall. Without a collaborative effort between educational institutions and mining companies to invest in the youth today, the already growing problem of staffing challenges will only worsen in the coming years.

This is not helped by the negative perception of mining amongst the public, especially among the woke generation. To be fair, these perceptions are not entirely wrong. From high profile incidents attributed to mining companies where people lost lives, environment were irreversibly damaged and sacred ancestral lands were destroyed, the mining sector needs to rein in such actions that not only damage our fragile environment but are PR disasters that undermine the credibility of the whole sector. Whilst most mining companies are compliant with regulations and make concrete efforts to be responsible miners, high profile failures unfortunately are the ones that linger in peoples' collective memories.

The situation is critical as up to half of the metals and minerals workforce are set to retire in the next 5-10 years. This is amidst a global situation where mining is taking centrestage with technological advances, energy transition and geopolitics driving demand for more critical minerals.

Jolting the younger generation into appreciating the importance of mining is not as simple as reminding them that without mining, there would be no high tech gadgets like smartphones. As much as our daily lives have become interwined with mining, the 'you can't have your cake and eat it too' logic is not enough.

Many suggestions have been highlighted at our events to tackle this problem. From investing in education and training at a younger age (e.g. elementary schools) to optimising technology to attract a tech-savvy Gen Z and improving work life balance (e.g. more manageable fly-in-fly-out rotational schedules), these are all great ideas that should be considered by the relevant authorities, be it government officials or senior mining executives.

Yet these are only one side of the coin. Mine sites are often in far away remote locations which are definitely less attractive than office jobs in big cities. However, from my own interactions with fresh graduates with mining related degree qualifications, these are not a great concern for them. The main challenge they face is a lack of suitable job openings within the sector. Hiring freezes amidst bleak economic outlook and lack of job opportunities within their own countries have resulted in fresh mining graduates being unable to find jobs that match their qualifications, resulting in them moving abroad or having to turn to other non-mining related sectors for new job opportunities.

This are multi-faceted challenges that requires a coordinated approach to tackle. Whilst there is growing recognition and conversation now about this, more urgent actions need to be taken as this is not a manpower issue that automation and technology innovation alone can solve. Mining is still quintessentially a people business and the next generation needs to take ownership in how the minerals and resources of our lands are extracted in a responsible and sustainable fashion for the future.

P.s. If you are a youth based in Asia working in the mining sector and wish to join us in the Asian Youth Chapter to make a difference, reach out to us here.