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Wanted—a few good men

The war for talent comes to the mining industry

Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Corresponding author: doggett{at}geol.queensu.ca

A seminal study by McKinsey and Co. in 1998 examined the issue of the impending shortage of talent in U.S. and global businesses. They predicted that significant resources would need to be invested in the recruitment, training, and retention of the human capital that provides competitive advantage to firms. For those of us in the resource sector with enough seniority or enough courage to reflect on the state of the world in 1998, pretty much the last thing on our minds would be where to find sufficient talent to sustain and grow our business. This time was the beginning of a long downturn in the industry where few new recruits entered the business, and many experienced people were forced out. A 1999 exit survey of graduates from U.S. universities offering programs in geology or mining carried out by the American Geological Institute suggested that fewer than 200 new graduates in the entire country planned to work in the mineral exploration or mining business.