A recent discussion sparked by Marc Borbas, CEO of Edumine, has brought a critical issue to the forefront of the mining industry: the high attrition rate of promising young talent within their first three years. This article synthesizes the key insights from Borbas’s initial social media post and a subsequent interview, exploring the root causes of this trend and proposing forward-thinking solutions for retaining the next generation of mining professionals.
Marc Borbas
CEO, Elementa
Edumine & Careermine
The Core Problem:
Intentional Growth vs. Industrial Training
The central theme is that the industry is failing its new talent not because they lack capability, but because it fails to invest in their growth intentionally. A comment on the original post captured this sentiment perfectly, stating the industry makes “growth optional instead of intentional.” Marc Borbas emphasized, “Whenever I think of intentional, I think of design, architecture, design, a system that’s put in place”.
During the interview, Marc Borbas elaborated on this point, explaining that many mining companies have adopted an “industrial approach” to training. He further elaborated, “…as an industry, we’ve taken a very industrial approach to education in the last 10 years. You have to achieve these certain trainings and tick these certain boxes…But we’ve largely ignored kind of the organic experience of how every person wants to learn and grow in their role.” The “industrial approach” focuses on teaching an employee how to perform a specific job within the company’s established procedures, rather than developing them into a well-rounded, critical-thinking professional. The system is designed for operational efficiency, ticking boxes on a checklist, but it often leaves little room for the organic, curiosity-driven learning that fosters genuine professional development.
This creates a fundamental tension: while individuals are expected to take responsibility for their own career growth, the system provides little space, time, or support for them to do so.
Key Challenges and Contributing Factors
Several interconnected factors contribute to the “three years and gone” pattern:
1. The Mentorship Gap
A lack of effective mentorship is a recurring theme. Senior managers are often too lean on time to provide meaningful guidance. Borbas noted, “…the mentorship gap exists because we’re so lean and efficient…most of the senior managers just don’t actually have time to do it, right? There isn’t the slack time”. Furthermore, organizational changes, such as centralizing senior experts away from operational sites, have reduced the opportunities for the “accidental interactions” and organic mentorship that once proved vital. Borbas also highlighted the challenge of centralized senior experts, saying, “This notion that ‘the people that need to mentor me actually aren’t at my site anymore’…They’ve been brought together somewhere centrally…So it’s more difficult to connect with them organically”. This creates a vacuum of guidance, leaving young professionals without a clear line of sight into their future career paths.
2. Generational Shifts in Expectations
There is a significant disconnect between the expectations of new entrants and the mindset of established leaders. Borbas explained, “…the people that are still in the industry after 20 or 30 years are in it because they love it…And in many cases, they’ve had a hard path through it, right? It’s not been an easy industry…So I think a lot of them kind of go, ‘Hey, I had a pretty hard road here to get to where I got to and to gain the knowledge. This was hard-won knowledge’…And there’s a bit of a sense of, ‘and so it should be hard won for everyone'”.
- New Generations: Younger professionals, as digital natives, expect easy and immediate access to information and support. Having grown up with on-demand services, they enter the workplace with an expectation that development opportunities should be just as accessible.
- Established Professionals: Many senior leaders forged their careers through a “hard-won” path, earning their stripes through trial and persistence. This experience can create a belief that new talent should follow the same difficult road.
This clash leads to friction. Borbas advises leaders to accept that the way the current generation learns and grows will look very different from their own, and to embrace it rather than resist it.
3. The Nature of the “Entry-Level Contract”
The implicit contract for a new hire is a trade-off: the company provides an opportunity to learn and grow in exchange for the employee performing foundational, often less engaging, tasks. Borbas reflected on this dynamic, saying, “…you really see this mix between ‘Growth is an individual responsibility’, which I agree with. You’ve got to take charge of that yourself. But then this tension between, ‘but does the system actually allow any space for that?’”. The problem arises when the “growth” part of this agreement is not fulfilled. Young professionals are placed in roles to “move rocks,” but the promised opportunities for development do not materialize. After three years of feeling reined in and lacking opportunities to innovate or solve problems, they look for careers elsewhere.
4. Cyclical Impact of the Industry
The boom-and-bust nature of the mining industry exacerbates the problem. During downturns, training and development budgets are often the first to be cut. While the immediate impact is not always visible, it erodes the talent pipeline. When the market recovers, companies find themselves two years behind, scrambling to find qualified individuals for roles they haven’t been developing.
Proposed Solutions and a Path Forward
The discussion with Borbas did not merely dwell on the problems; it pointed toward actionable solutions centered on a fundamental shift in mindset.
1. Embrace a “Digital First, Human Second” Approach to Mentorship
To bridge the mentorship gap, the industry must leverage technology. Borbas suggested, “…you’ve got a workforce that isn’t as comfortable asking questions face-to-face as the generation before them, right? So you’ve got a little bit of a difference there”. Younger generations are comfortable initiating connections and learning through digital interfaces.
- Actionable Step: Create digital platforms that connect junior employees with mentors, regardless of physical location. These tools can facilitate initial contact and knowledge sharing, leading to more meaningful in-person interactions when needed.
- Benefit: This approach is scalable, aligns with the behavior of digital natives, and can even provide data signals (e.g., a flurry of questions on a specific topic) that indicate a perfect moment for a mentoring intervention.
2. Make Development an Outcome, Not a Process
Leaders should focus on the desired outcome—creating competent, adaptable problem-solvers—rather than dictating the exact path to get there. Borbas remarked, “…intention has been more around ‘let’s get someone to do the job right’, not necessarily ‘let’s get someone to grow as a critical problem-solving mining engineer’, for instance”.
- Actionable Step: Empower young engineers by giving them real problems to solve. An engineer is trained to be a problem-solver; if you take away the hammer and nails, they will become disengaged.
- Benefit: This fosters engagement, accelerates learning, and gives employees a tangible sense of their contribution to the larger business.
3. Reframe the Development Timeline
With fewer people entering the industry and a wave of retirements on the horizon, the only solution is to accelerate the development of those already in the system.
- Actionable Step: Instead of lamenting that a three-year employee cannot possibly know what once took five years to learn, leaders must ask: “How can we help them learn in three years what used to take five?”
- Benefit: This proactive approach directly addresses the impending skills gap by creating a more efficient and effective talent pipeline.
Conclusion
In conclusion, retaining young talent in mining requires a deliberate and strategic pivot. Companies must move beyond the industrialized model of training and cultivate a culture of intentional growth. By embracing digital tools for mentorship, focusing on development outcomes, and accepting the need to accelerate career progression, the mining industry can build a resilient, skilled, and motivated workforce for the future.
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