Skills Development Should Be A Benefit, Not A Burden

Mining houses are required by the Skills Development Act to provide a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) every year, as well as an Annual Training Report (ATR). The purpose of these documents is to outline and budget for various skills development initiatives and then report back on what was achieved. This includes mandatory compliance and technical training, as well as apprenticeships, career path development, and more. While both the WSP and the ATR are legally required, they are often seen as burdensome. However, with the right partner and the right planning, skills development can become a self-funding initiative that benefits mines with effective skills, succession planning and business continuity.

The sums of many parts

The WSP and the ATR form critical parts of mining compliance and are a mandatory requirement for obtaining and maintaining a mining licence. They can also be quite complex undertakings as they need to be carefully thought out and compiled according to the mine’s skills requirements, accurately budgeted, and signed off by the various parties involved. This includes the relevant organised labour unions, senior mine management and finally, the skills development facilitator at the mine, who must then submit the documentation to the Mining Qualifications Authority for approval.

The WSP must be submitted in advance of the coming year. At the end of the year, the ATR must be compiled to demonstrate what training initiatives and spend were completed and if it was according to the plan. If there is a deviation from the WSP, the relevant parties must provide an explanation, and all parties must sign off that the deviation from the plan was acceptable. While some leniency is permitted, a deviation of more than 20 per cent from the original plan could have dire consequences, including revoking of the mining licence for repeat offences.

 Keep accountable 

Sufficient time and funds need to be dedicated to completing the WSP and ATR documents accurately. The WSP is not just a paper exercise, but a plan that needs to be executed over 12 months, and it needs commitment from both organised labour and management to make it a success. The plan should always be focused on developing and upskilling employees to ensure the environment they work in is compliant and safe above all. If it is done correctly, it will benefit mining houses significantly in the long run.

These plans allow for management to commit to the development of their people to create a better, more efficient, more productive and, above all, safer working environment. The process also allows mining houses to build a pool of talent made up of professional mining employees and develop enhanced succession planning, which is critical for business continuity. Training should include not only mandatory safety and compliance, but also technical and career path development, and softer human skills like assertiveness, conflict resolution and communications. By looking at all of these areas, a more holistic and well-rounded working environment can
be created.

Self-sustaining process

While both the WSP and the ATR can be done in-house, calling in the help of a specialist can be hugely beneficial. An expert in the industry with first-hand experience on how to effectively design a WSP, will help ensure the plan is realistic, accurate, effective, and forward-thinking on both skills and human capital development. A specialist partner can also help to ensure that the plan is compiled and executed correctly to ensure that budget is not overspent or underspent.

The right partner can also assist mining houses to make the most of the discretionary grants available as part of the skills development levy, which can help make skills development both self-funding and self-sustainable. Effective skills development is not just about throwing money at a problem or ticking boxes on a paper-based exercise; it should be a benefit, not a burden, and help mining houses ultimately become more profitable.