The demands and challenges in the mining industry seem to increase in number and complexity as the years go on. And for you who's in the business, you do have to keep up in addressing these concerns. This is why you need to seek more ways on how you can continue to develop your knowledge and skills. Here are four means that you can try, depending on your location:
Seek local recognition of your skills.
In most countries participating in this business, they have a process for recognizing workers' skills. This is to determine how knowledgeable someone is to work in the risky world of mining. This helps the miner know the type of training, tasks, or other requirements he needs to get formal qualifications for a certain job.
For instance, in Australia, they have Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Your list of education and work details will be assessed together with other experiences in life, hobbies, and others.
Doing this before any other professional development course can help you know the next best step. It helps you avoid wasting your efforts.
Please take note that this process may require you to submit documents, such as school transcripts, employers' recommendations, and even official release from your employer re your job description. Skills tests and interviews are also often conducted toward granting formal qualifications.
Become an apprentice.
Apprenticeship is a common and encouraged practice in mining, especially today when the number of qualified workers in the business continue to decline. You'll generally gain skills while working (and earning), usually lasting for a couple of years, at the least.
Check with your location's administration about apprentice opportunities. It would be best to do this with a government-accredited organization or company so you'll surely have the certification or accreditation that you can present when seeking promotion or a new work opportunity.
Undergo on-the-job training.
In most college or university degree courses, this is a requirement and taken in between year levels or the school break. But in some companies, they do offer similar job placement even for new graduates. A program like this is aimed to help fresh grads to decide whether they want to really be involved in mining or not.
If you're thinking of doing this, remember that this is a good chance for you to start your professional connections earlier. Also, this helps prevent you from being culture-shocked at the nature of the job and the business you're getting into.
Even if you’ve already decided to stick it out in the industry from the very start, this can still be an excellent option for you. While you’re earning your first income as a professional, you’ll get to discover which area of the business you’d love to focus on.
Take short courses.
Ensure that you'll be signing up for courses that will be recognized in your local business. And you should be thankful to the changes of the modern times, because now, you have options to do this. Aside from the traditional classroom setup, you can now choose to go online or through a correspondence course. Also, more institutions have taken into consideration the schedules of the working class that they now offer more flexibility in terms of time.
Developing your skills is like a win-win situation for you and the industry. You'll do well as you maintain your edge as a professional miner, while you also equip yourself with skills that will eventually help improve the business as you continue to thrive in it.
More industry concerns like this are discussed in mining events and conferences. See more about it on http://www.MiningIQ.com/events.
