TRAINING & EDUCATION
EDUCATING THE FUTURE GENERATION OF MINING GOLD INDUSTRY GROUP AND CORE LEARNING FOUNDATION ARE GIVING SCHOOL STUDENTS THE INFORMATION AND ON-SITE EXPERIENCE NEEDED TO FORGE A CAREER IN THE MINING AND RESOURCES SECTOR.
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s the mining and resources industry in Australia goes from strength to strength, concerns have been raised about filling its workforce needs. A 2021 report commissioned by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia (CME), undertaken by independent labour market specialists Pit Crew Consulting, looks at the sector’s workforce requirements in the near term and out to 2025. Findings of the report show there
is a significant shortage of workers in the Western Australian mining and resources industries, with the potential for there to be a peak shortage of 33,000 workers. To combat this potential shortage there needs to be a focus on training and education to meet the needs of the growing mining and resource industry. Formed in 2018 to educate Western Australian students about the benefits and pathways to a career in the mining and resources sector, the CoRE Learning Foundation is responsible for overseeing the CoRE Learning model.
CoRE Learning Foundation lead Suzy Urbaniak says the program exposes students as young as Year 4 to authentic STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning, which is immersed in resources industry-based contexts. “In CoRE, we aim to help our youth of today succeed in tomorrow’s world and we have achieved this through our authentic and relevant STEM learning using project-based learning,” Urbaniak says. “Through our projects we immerse the students in the world around them, FIELD TRIPS ARE A FAVOURITE ACTIVITY AMONG STUDENTS.
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helping them understand the science in their daily life and how it applies to their environment.” Urbaniak says one of the key focus areas of the program was establishing a CoRE centre in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia, an area which she believes is still an underexplored mineral province. The foundation now has footholds in the Pilbara, the Wheatbelt, the Goldfields and the Metropolitan regions of Western Australia. “For me, as an educator, when students start to talk science with you and are able to relate their learning to their environment, connect the science with their environment, they are engaged and that means they have learned something; something which is meaningful and applies to their everyday life,” Urbaniak says. “It is critical that through CoRE, students develop a greater appreciation of the resources sector and the future careers associated with it.” Urbaniak says the sponsorship of Ramelius Resources has enabled the CoRE Learning foundation to begin its journey and expansion within the greater Western Australian Wheatbelt. Ramelius also supports the foundation’s other CoRE schools attending and visiting their mines. This is a crucial aspect, particularly for upper school students as they consolidate their CoRE Learning with the greater awareness of resources careers, combining the two to develop a career pathway into the industry. “In CoRE, we have witnessed this process happen time and time again as evidenced by our growing CoRE alumni,” Urbaniak says. “Ramelius is investing in the future resources talent pipeline of STEM, job aware students, by supporting CoRE in the development of Wheatbelt CoRE.” Northern Star Resources’ sponsorship enabled the CoRE Learning’s Foundation to begin its expansion program throughout Western Australia. Fundamentally, it enabled the foundation to grow from one school to 10, from two to 40 educators and from 140 students to 700 in just two years. Urbaniak says the CoRE Learning Model’s field trips are unique and
