“For example, we’re talking about the
type of roles that are required to allow a
mine to legally operate. If you can’t secure
the right people for these roles, you are in
really deep trouble.
“Our baby boomers are starting to
retire and there’s going to be a huge
number of people exiting the workforce
in the next 10-15 years. That’s going to
leave us short of some very critical talent
and so the issue of skills shortages won’t
be going away.”
To reduce the impact, succession
planning, workforce diversity and
leadership development are major focus
areas in Peabody’s current and future
talent management plan.
“Succession planning is critical. If you
are not having conversations about how
to prepare people for the next level, and
the one above that, then you are not
meeting the needs of your organisation,”
Woodcroft elaborates.
“There’s also a large pool of
talented women that the industry is not
utilising as well as it could be. That’s
both a challenge and opportunity for
companies like Peabody, along with
refining work readiness programs for
Indigenous people.
“More so than when times are good,
it is our leaders who set the culture of
the organisation, and that can be a real
competitive advantage when attracting
and retaining talent. Peabody has
significantly ramped up its management
and leadership development initiatives
to ensure our leaders have the skills
and mindset to navigate our workforce
through tougher times.”
As an industry, we could
be doing more to promote
mining careers at a time
when labour shortages have
eased, or perhaps prospects
in the oil and gas sector
look more appealing.
»
RESOURCE
PEOPLE
SUMMER 2014-15
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