PRIME – AN EDUCATION PATHWAY TO MINING CAREERS
by Kate O’Mara
In February 2020, Regional Development Australia (RDA) Hunter and NSW Minerals Council (NSWMC) announced a new partnership to boost high school student awareness of the NSW mining industry and its varied career opportunities.
PRIME (Pathways to Resource Industry and Mining Employment) helps secondary students in the mining-strong Hunter region better appreciate the lifecycle of a mine and the diversity of skills and jobs required to drive a mining operation across its life.
RDA Hunter engaged educator and pedagogy professional Candece Bergin to develop the student and teacher-friendly program. I talked to her about how she did it.
WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND AND ASSOCIATION WITH RDA HUNTER?
I’m a secondary school teacher and have been working to develop and teach curricula for 26 years. I first came to know and appreciate RDA Hunter when I coordinated its ME and miniME Program activities for Callaghan College and its 15 partner primary schools. I was at RDA Hunter’s annual STEM Workforce conference in 2018 and was so impressed with what they were doing to try and change pathways and to promote opportunities to students that I did something very bold and approached the STEM Workforce manager. I said: “What you need is a teacher on the inside – and I’d love to be that person!” I thought that I could make a difference in getting the opportunities they had designed and were working to disseminate to more schools and more students. I didn’t think I’d hear any more, but my boldness paid off and the organisation contacted me to, first, work on its miniME program in partnership with City of Newcastle’s Smart City Initiative and then the PRIME project. Neat huh?
WHAT WAS THE BRIEF FROM NSWMC?
NSWMC and its Careers Group – which is made up of its large and high-profile mining companies – was keen to promote the diversity of jobs, and the secure and long-term career opportunities available in the mining sector. It’s been a truly industry-led project because we worked together to define the scope and develop innovative ways for students to learn more about one of the Hunter’s very important industry sectors.
We decided on ‘the life-cycle of a mine’ as the project theme as it gave us leeway to include content that was relevant to different parts of the mining process and which correlated to learning areas like science, maths and geography. It also allowed us to show the huge range of jobs and careers that mining offers in each of these areas and introduce students to ‘real’ mining problems and ‘real’ industry experts through visits to mining operations and school incursions.
WHAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR YOU IN DEVELOPING THE PROGRAM?
As a teacher I’m aware of the pressure to cover the curriculum so I wanted to be absolutely certain that this program wasn’t an ‘extra’ and therefore a chore for teachers and students. I wanted it to be embedded and I wanted it to be complete so they didn’t have to do any extra work in order to teach it – even permission slips were included in their teaching manuals. I needed to make it as easy as possible to roll out so I made sure it was linked to topics and key learning areas within the existing syllabus. I also wanted it to include a variety of teaching techniques, particularly technology based methods. It’s a win-win really – teachers are able to offer interesting and engaging project-based activities and students learn in novel, contemporary ways and have exposure to real-life scenarios.
HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON THE SUBJECT AREAS? WHAT ARE THEY?
We agreed with NSWMC on nine key areas of focus. These subject areas link the overall project theme of the life-cycle of a mine with the Department of Education syllabus and engage students in innovative, problem-based learning activities that incorporate virtual reality, video, writing and experimentation. They are:
Mining History; Why Mine; Exploration; Preparing to Mine; Methods of Mining; Processing; Transportation; Rehabilitation; Renewable Energy; Careers.
Students also get to work in teams on a major project that asks them to come up with a solution to one of five real-world mine operation problems posed by NSWMC members. These are: Economies of Scale; Water as a Finite Resource; Transportation and Logistics; Sustainability across the Mine Lifecycle; Social License
Students have the opportunity to present their major work as part of a project-wide cross school exhibition at the conclusion of the 2020 program.
WHAT MINING CAREERS DOES THE PROGRAM AIM TO PROMOTE?
There’s lots of opportunity for long-term careers in the mining sector. Surprisingly, NSWMC is not seeing ongoing interest in its Mining Engineering roles so this program helps to promote those jobs as well as:
Geotechnical Engineer; Mechanical Engineer; Surveyor & Spatial Scientist; Diesel Mechanic; Laboratory Technician; Metallurgist; Civil Engineer; Electrician; Haul Truck Driver; Auto Electrician; Health & Safety Officer.
HOW DID YOU GET SCHOOLS INVOLVED/EXCITED? HOW MANY THIS YEAR AND NEXT? GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD?
Schools across the region’s 10 local government areas were invited to sign-up – whether they were mining areas or not. We provided a high-level overview of the program and its aims and we outlined the resources they’d be given to facilitate its roll-out. A big selling benefit was the Oculus Virtual Reality sets which each school receives two of. Students love VR technology so I’m sure they were an influencer. Another factor was the complete and detailed synchronised teacher and student manuals which demonstrated how succinct and flowing the program is. It reiterated that it was not only a quality program (I hope), but that it was easy to deliver.
This year 20 schools signed-up from right across the region and in 2021 we’ll have an additional 15 schools involved.
HOW DID YOU FIND MATERIAL TO INCLUDE?
NSWMC provided me with great information on the life-cycle of a mine (I learnt a lot!). This was backed up by excellent school resources that they had already developed and I added some desktop research findings to complete the picture. I combined this information with what I understand about the way students learn and the way educators like to teach and the end result is a genuinely industry-led and relevant program.
I tested the concept on other teachers to make sure I’d thought of everything. I worked up a lesson plan and asked my teacher network to check that it matched the syllabus, that it covered the right topic area and that it was authentic. This helped me hone it where necessary. At the end of this year we’ll make further tweaks based on student, teacher and, importantly, industry feedback before the 2021 program begins.
WHAT ARE THE MEASURES OF SUCCESS?
Success is measured by our students. We are doing pre and post surveying to gauge changes in their awareness of the mining industry and the mining process, their senior school subject selection, post school training and study direction (vocational v university), their career considerations and their perceptions of mining.
WHAT IMPACT HAS COVID-19 HAD ON THE DELIVERY OF THE PROGRAM?
Well, as schools have had to move quickly to implement new methods of delivery, we’ve done the same with the program. When we realised that traditional schooling was on-hold for a while and online was the new normal, we went digital too. I utilised the CANVAS online teaching platform to transition all content. Now, as education slowly returns to pre-COVID methods, our partner schools have the option to deliver the program either or both ways. It’s really been an unexpected plus for the program as I’ve been delivering individualised support to schools based on their needs which has strengthened our partnerships. I’ve enjoyed getting to know new teachers, the different ways schools work, their varying needs and the ways in which we can tailor our support for them. It’s been very cool!
RDA Hunter works with the three levels of government, industry, other RDAs and local communities to support the economic development of the Hunter. In collaboration with relevant stakeholders, entrepreneurs and emerging business leaders, RDA Hunter is exploring opportunities to sustain a strong local economy, create local jobs, attract investment, foster innovation and, by working with industry and educators, we are building the skilled workforce of the future.
The Hunter’s mining sector continues to be a large employer and important driver of economic growth in the region. RDA Hunter is pleased to be NSW Mineral Council’s partner of choice for the PRIME project. With significant experience connecting Hunter schools with industry to deliver graduates with relevant industry knowledge and skills RDA Hunter is honing its model for the mining industry and helping it highlight the career opportunities that will continue to exist in the sector well into the future.