Transforming future talent in mining and metals
December 3, 2021
December 3, 2021
In a digitalized, decarbonized world, mining and metals companies will need radically new skillsets to succeed. But these highly sought-after skills will likely be in short supply. To attract and retain an effective future workforce, the industries would need new talent sourcing strategies and different employee value propositions.
To address this issue, the World Economic Forum’s Mining and Metals Future of Work Taskforce has conducted a Global Talent Innovation Initiative. Working with future talent, industry stakeholders and partners—and using innovation hubs and the SkyHive Quantum Labor Analytics Platform—the initiative has taken a deep dive into the future of mining and metals talent.
The result is a comprehensive report, based on extensive research and modelling, that defines the skills the industries will need and assesses where and how this talent will be sourced.
To date, technology advances have been the major factor reshaping mining and metals companies. However, the initiative found other factors—beyond emerging technologies—weighing heavily on future business models. The urgent need to adapt to climate change and the imperative, in some jurisdictions, to navigate geopolitical uncertainty will also dramatically reshape the business environment.
The working group concluded that the future for most mining and metals companies will likely be shaped by some combination of technology, ESG (environmental, social and governance) and geopolitical drivers. The following scenarios assess these drivers from a talent supply perspective:
Mining and metals companies will have no choice but to start building internal pathways to develop, upskill or reskill internal talent.
With emerging technologies, sustainability and geopolitical uncertainty shaping future operating models, mining and metals workforces will be filled with very different role profiles. Employee skillsets, backgrounds and motivations will change as the industries evolve their capabilities to tackle new challenges.
The working group developed nine profiles showcasing the breadth of the future skillsets the industries would need to succeed in the coming years. Many of the common skills are new capability priorities for the industries:
As future talent evolves, so will career journeys. Mining and metals companies will need to engage earlier with young talent and look internally to develop new capabilities. There is also an opportunity to re-engage with experienced and senior practitioners returning to the industries.
In this environment, new talent management strategies will be needed, including:
While EVPs will differ by geography, depending on local job markets and cultural expectations, traditional EVPs are likely to become increasingly irrelevant for future generations. Mining and metals companies are aware of the power of sustainability and diversity to attract future talent (see Figure 1). However, what they may not realize is that a competitive salary is now less important than being able to make a difference at a societal and environmental level.
Figure 1: Audit of recruitment ads for mining and metals companies
Source: Accenture analysis of careers web sites for select mining and metals companies
SkyHive modelling—mapping skills supply and demand—shows the traditional mining and metals approach of buying talent will no longer be adequate to resource the workforce of the future. Instead, companies will need to adapt with build, borrow, bot and boomerang strategies.
To acquire new skillsets, companies will need to hire from adjacent industries—or use mergers and acquisitions to gain new capabilities.
Where skills are scarce, companies will have to start building internal pathways to develop, upskill or reskill internal talent.
Where demand fluctuates, skills can be borrowed from other parts of an organization—or borrowed from industry talent pools in a sharing economy model.
Automation may mean some roles and repetitive tasks are no longer performed by humans, but demand for workers with analytical skills will increase.
Alumni talent should be harvested, perhaps by using a sharing economy talent solution where people work horizontally across the industry.
Different future operating models in the mining and metals industries will introduce a range of emerging roles requiring new skillsets. To reach, acquire and retain the talent of the future, companies must map emerging roles, develop EVPs for a broader and more diverse workforce and adopt a multipronged sourcing approach.
As a priority, mining and metals companies need to evolve their approaches at three levels:
Transform the talent journey
Redesign talent and leadership frameworks
Grow and deploy talent at an industry level
The mining and metals industries have a window of opportunity to collaborate in preparation for the cyclical skills shortages ahead. For many organizations, making these changes will require a change in leadership mindset and cultural evolution.