ATTRACTING FUTURE GENERATIONS
Looking beyond Peabody’s immediate
needs to the wider picture, Woodcroft
believes it is now important for industry,
government and educators to address
future skills needs, adding that constant
media speculation about the industry
could be swaying career choices.
“The education system hasn’t really
come on board with the need to get
young people thinking about the exciting
career opportunities in mining,” he notes.
“And as an industry, we could also 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.
“During the Global Financial Crisis we
saw a reduction in the number of young
people choosing mining degrees, resulting
in a shortfall of qualified mining engineers
a few years later. The current market
downturn is likely to have the same impact
and this will be a significant problem.”
Taking charge of its own pipeline of
young talent, Peabody’s HR team is
now exploring greater opportunities to
maximise its investment in graduates.
While these programs are usually the first
to suffer from financial cuts, Peabody is
balancing short term cost savings with
future talent needs and is committed to its
graduate program.
“Like many companies we have had
a fairly traditional graduate program, so
the HR team has refreshed our offering to
make it more appealing to the brightest
young minds,” Woodcroft says.
“The next generation want visible
career paths and flexible arrangements.
We have to ensure we meet these
expectations otherwise we just won’t be
able to attract the right talent to take
Peabody into the future.
“Just as we are introducing new
technology into our mining practices, we
have to be prepared to apply the same
focus on innovation into our workplace
practices as well.”
What is certain, according to
Woodcroft, is that the industry is in
an era of continuous change and
»
that means HR must be proactive in
identifying opportunities to help the
business thrive.
“My team and I are constantly looking
at new ways for the function to meet the
needs of our organisation. That can be
tough, especially in such a challenging
market, but I guess it is also what makes
the job so rewarding,” he says.
RP
SUMMER 2014-15 RESOURCE
PEOPLE
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HUMAN RESOURCES
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