Bridging the Skills Gap: Innovative Approaches to Attracting Talent in Geoscience

In this episode we chat to Graham Grant, CEO of Seequent, world leaders in earth-modelling, analysis, data management and collaboration software. They help organisations to understand the underground, giving the confidence to make better decisions faster. Graham has a background in logistics and shipping and has been with Seequent for the past 13 years and is on the podcast today to talk about the company, technology,  their recently launched open software platform Seequent Evo, talent and skills shortage in our industry and how they are adapting and what the mining industry can learn from other industries. KEY TAKEAWAYS Geoscience plays a crucial role in the mining industry by helping to identify valuable minerals underground. It involves complex processes that require accurate data collection and analysis to ensure economic extraction of resources. Sequent recently launched an open software platform called Sequent Evo, designed to address significant challenges in the mining industry, such as fragmented information systems and disconnected data. This cloud-native platform aims to enhance collaboration, drive automation, and facilitate faster decision-making. The mining industry is facing a significant skills gap due to a decline in new graduates entering geoscience programs and the retirement of experienced professionals. Initiatives like Visible Geology aim to engage younger audiences and promote interest in geology and mining careers. There are valuable lessons to be learned from other industries, such as oil and gas and civil infrastructure. For instance, the mining sector can benefit from adopting real-time downhole measurement techniques used in oil and gas to improve drilling efficiency and reduce costs. BEST MOMENTS "We are a software company that specialises in geosciences, and we're global leaders in that space... our HQ's in New Zealand, but we have around 800 staff in many countries, thousands of customers, and those customers span 150 countries around the world." "Mining companies are really cost sensitive... running operations cost effectively... we removed about 75% of all the repetitive tasks, which upped their employee productivity by about half." "We've got a massive skills gap coming in the next 10 to 20 years... if you talk to your average geologist, they didn't find their way into the industry because a careers advisor told them to." "We need innovative approaches, you need fresh thinking... " VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        [e-mail] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ X:              https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast  Web:        http://www.mining-international.org This episode is sponsored by Hawcroft, leaders in property risk management since 1992. They offer: Insurance risk surveys recognised as an industry standard Construction risk reviews Asset criticality assessments and more Working across over 600 sites globally, Hawcroft supports mining, processing, smelting, power, refining, ports, and rail operations. For bespoke property risk management services, visit www.hawcroft.com GUEST SOCIALS https://www.seequent.com/ https://www.visiblegeology.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamgrantuk/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/seequent/ https://www.youtube.com/seequent https://x.com/Seequentglobal ABOUT THE HOST Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first-world to third-world countries from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients' organisations in any mining discipline or level. Mining Internation