Education and training efforts in the mining industry have not been seriously affected by the global financial crisis, says Wits School of Mining Engineering head Professor Huw Phillips.
In fact, he reports that the 2009 intake of mining students at the four tertiary institutions offering mining qualifications is at an all-time high.
He says that the Wits School of Mining Engineering currently has a first-year class of 223 students, a total of 480 undergraduates and over 300 postgraduates. ball mill rolling grinding mill priceHe adds that the economic downturn has not dampened interest in mining education in South Africa.
Internationally, interest in a career as a mining professional started to pick up in the last few years. Howevequarry crushing and screening business planr, the 2008 and 2009 intakes showed that this had not translated into student registrations.
Although the 2009 intake is at an all-time high, there are concerns that companies neglecting training 110v ezone mixer grinder in indiaduring the financial crisis will not be in a position to take full advantage of the uptake in the global economy when it comes around.
He adds that the fact that South Africa is a net exporter of mining industry professionexplosion proof motors in cementals complicates the training quandary during the crisis.
“In determining our education and training needs, the country must take into account the leakage due to emigration, however unpalatable that is,” says Phillips.
Philstone crusher used salelips commends the Mining Qualifications Authority’s (MQA’s) efforts in promoting the mining industry as one of choice when selecting a career.
“The MQA has increased its efforts in supporting the institutions that provide the education and training, ensure that the pretertiary qualifications are registered, that appropriate competences are generated and that unit standards are available to service providers and learners,” says Phillips.
There are ongoing discussions between the Wits School of Mining Engineering and the MQA regarding the inclusion of programmes in rock engineering and geophysics, particularly seismicity, in the current curriculum.
“The view of the School of Mining Engineering at Wits is that the undergraduate degree should be broad based and equip graduates to enter any sector of the industry. Specialisation in any of the subdisciplines should be at postgraduate level,” concludes Phillips.