Modern mining and quarrying industry - KGHM supports professional development

On 11 September this year, the conference 'Challenges of the mining and quarrying industry' was held in Lubin. The event was an opportunity to summarise two years of cooperation between KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., the Polish Copper Employers' Association and the Copper Personnel Education Centre as part of the Ore Mining Industry Skills Centre 4.0 project. The conference brought together dozens of representatives from universities, secondary schools, human capital management experts and copper industry professionals.

Education for the future

The Ore Mining Industry Skills Centre 4.0 (ISC) project, in addition to education and training activities, includes the implementation of a number of initiatives to promote vocational training, as well as the latest knowledge and technology. All activities have contributed to the development of vocational education in the mining sector.

‘The conference is of great importance to us, and although it is of a summarising nature for the CPEC, I make no secret of the fact that we look forward to further cooperation and to using the potential of the Industry Skills Centre established in Lubin’, said Zbigniew Bryja, Vice President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. for Development. ‘Our first employees have already had the opportunity to receive training in welding, automation, electrical safety and the operation of modern equipment used in mining. We believe that there will be many more of these tailor-made courses in the future’, he added.

As part of the project, the Ore Mining Industry Skills Centre 4.0 has carried out a number of activities to support the development of vocational education in the mining sector. They included, among other things, 28 training courses for young people, adults and teachers. A total of 318 participants took part, acquiring modern technical and digital skills in line with the requirements of the copper industry. Conferences, seminars, study trips and community meetings were also organised as part of the education - industry - science knowledge triangle. The events served to diagnose needs, share experiences and build lasting relationships between schools and employers. The ISC has also actively promoted occupations key to the mining sectors and supported schools in aligning their educational offerings with the labour market. The project also involved participation in educational and job fairs, which facilitated contacts between students and career advisers on the one hand, and local industry representatives on the other.

Challenges for the industry

As part of this year's conference, representatives from academia and the mining industry discussed the challenges facing employers in terms of both technology and human capital management. Among the relevant issues, the experts pointed out the generational changes taking place and the responsible approach of employers to neurodiversity.

‘The programme of the conference is not an accident. We want those involved in HR or managing teams in our organisation to be aware of the challenges ahead, so that our people management policy is consistent with the expectations of younger generations who are entering, or will soon be entering, the labour market’, said Magdalena Lipińska, General Director for Human Resources Management at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

ISC for the Copper Belt

Operating as part of the Copper Personnel Training Centre, the Industry Skills Centre in Lubin focuses on strengthening competencies related to metal mining and metal processing. Opened in 2023 at the CPEC training site, the building, which is more than 1,000 square meters in size, houses modern teaching laboratories. Those worth mentioning among them include a space for self-propelled mining machines (SMM) workshops, a conveyor belt with a transfer station and control panel, a welding simulator workshop, mining automation workshops, IT labs, as well as a learning station for work at height.

The Copper Ore Mining ISC 4.0 project was funded with money from the National Recovery Plan.