South Africa is finding an expanding export market for its mining
skills, with an increased outsourcing of mining personnel taking
place to international mining markets.
The international demand for professional mining personnel, such as
project managers, engineers, mine overseers and supervisors has
increased dramatically over the years, reports Central Technical
Service (CTS) director Don Radnidge.
“South Africa’s professional mining force is considered
to be one of the best in the world, and many international mining
companies undertaking exploration projects in Africa are making use
of South African skills,” he says.
In addition, using staff from South Africa instead of expatriates
has proved more cost-effective for these companies.
&lparcticle size control on crushersdquo;We have found that, although the South Africans are offered
attractive salaries for working on these projects, they still cost
less than their European and US counterparts,” reveals
Radnidge.
The company, which specialises in contract and permanent staffing
services, has supplied mining personnel to projects in Zambia,
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia.
South African skills have even been noted as far afield as Iran,
where the company has supplied a copper refwarning system for crushing plantsinery with skilled
personnel, Radnidge tells Mining Weekly.
At present, about 40% of the company’s client base is
established in the mining industry, with most skilled personnel
being placed in the gold- and coal-mining sectors.
Since outsourcing was introduced to the South African industry in
the 1970s, the trend has shifted from the placement of a single
person to the outsourcing of an entire workforce, especially in the
mining industry, says director Chris Clarke.
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South Africa is only now catching on to the growing international
trend of outsourcing of skills, with as much as 60% to 70% of the
UK’s labour estimated to be contractors.
“With more mining houses choosing to focus solely on their
core business, more mining services are being outsourced, with
permanent personnel being replaced with temporary staff,”
explains Clarke.
“However, we have found that some of the temporary staff we
have placed have been working on thecrushing in processing of ore same project for the last six
or seven years,” he adds.
Outsourcing of skills offers mining houses more flexibility in
terms of staff offloading when times are tough.
CTS, which was established 11 years ago, supplied artisans to the
mining industry, general production industry and the construction
industry gene rally.
Since then, the company has become more diversified, supplying
personnel with all kinds of skills, from labourers to secretaries
and project managers, and it has grbrief notes of vibrating screens in steel plantown from a small office with two
people to ten employees.
The company has established a commercial wing, which will be
focusing on supplying personnel such as secretaries and
receptionists in the field.
Ensuring the placement of the right people for the job is the
greatest challenge facing the company, says Radnidge.
Over the years the labour-placement industry has moved from
so-called ‘labour broking’, where workers were taken
basically from the street and placed in contracting jobs, to a more
professional approach.
Moreover, clients are becoming more particular in terms of the
personnel they need.
“As a company, we have remained competitive by offering a
professional diversified service, ensuring we place the best people
with our clients,” reports Radnidge.
“In addition, we also offer a value-added service to the
people we help place in these positions.
“Finding a person a job outside South Africa is not just
about putting him on a plane and sending him there,” reveals
Clarke.
Through the years the company has gained experience in the
different working conditions in Africa, and has adapted its
personnel packages accordingly.
“For example, if a person has to placed in a country where
there is no health infrastructure, he will need a more intensive
health-insurance package, such as air-rescue services, than a
person working in a country with a developed health
infrastructure,” explains Clarke.
There is no doubt that skills outsourcing will continue to increase
as industry becomes less labour-intensive and more
growth-orientated.
About 25% of the company’s total business is already derived
from outside South Africa, and it hopes to increase this figure
within the next year.