Mining is one of the major economic drivers for Australia’s closest neighbour, which means there are plenty of opportunities to work and establish a career in the Pacific nation.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a storied gold and copper mining history harking back to the early 1900s, and the likes of Ok Tedi, Lihir and Simberi are some of the active mines still producing today.
The country’s mining past has not been without its troubles, but a series of local and international companies are driving today’s sector forward, generating new opportunities for PNG communities and emerging professionals.
The IEA College of TAFE, based in the country’s capital of Port Moresby, is playing a key role in fostering PNG’s next generation of miners.
While IEA doesn’t provide education in practical trades, it does offer courses in business, accounting, IT, sales and marketing, each of which are important disciplines in the mining sector.
As PNG continues to develop and progress commercially, the country’s population is beginning to embrace the opportunities, learning the importance of professionalism and customer service.
Through the support of international companies, tertiary institutions such as IEA, and allied countries such as Australia, PNG has a way forward.
IEA manager Dr William Pedley told Australian Mining that the institution’s vision is “teaching the right attitude”.
“Three quarters of our students are people from school, another quarter are people who are in work but realise they can’t get a promotion without a qualification, so they come back and get a proper qualification.” Pedley said.
“We are the only college TVET (TAFE-delivered vocational education and training) college in PNG which gives Australian-equivalent-level qualifications.”
This enables IEA students to not only receive a high standard of education, but also ply their trade in Australia if they are able to do so.
IEA has links with various Australian institutions, such as James Cook University in Queensland, to support those who want to study across the Torres Strait.
“People who get our diplomas and advanced diplomas can go on (to James Cook) after getting credit for their first year of studies at IEA,” Pedley said.
“It is noticeable whenever somebody who’s gone to Australia comes back – the professionalism they’ve absorbed from being in Australia, and the professional attitudes they’ve learned there.
“In an ideal world, you’d have all our graduates go to Australia to do one, two, three or more years’ work experience and, because they all love their country, they will probably filter back at some point anyway.
“The experience they would then bring back would have a very beneficial effect on Papua New Guinea.”
As IEA fosters PNG’s next generation of professionals, the institution’s key strategy is to get students into companies, which is often a two-way partnership.
“We also train people within companies,” Pedley said. “We’ve got links with Ok Tedi and Lihir and we’ve had a huge link with Panguna in the past, which is set to be reopen in the next year.”
Panguna – a copper-gold mine in Bougainville – has produced three million tonnes of copper and 306 tonnes of gold in the past.
Panguna’s reopening is a key objective of PNG’s Department of Mineral and Energy Resources (DoMER), with discussions between the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and the mine’s landowners continuing to advance.
It’s mines such as Panguna that not only offer career opportunities for IEA students but also enable IEA to provide career development opportunities within companies.
“We go into companies, help train their staff and give them train-the-trainer qualifications, so they know how to teach new procedures effectively to their employees,” Pedley said.
“At the same time, we look to hopefully place our students in these companies once they’ve graduated.”
Pedley said IEA has also formed ties with oil and gas companies as the institution looks to support this growing industry. The production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in particular, is spurring PNG’s future economic potential.
“We’ve been talking to the oil and gas industry because there are some major new projects coming online next year,” Pedley said. “Many of these companies are looking for chefs to provide catering. So we’ve got an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with a Oilmin, who are supplying catering services to many of these big projects.
“In conjunction with Oilmin, we train senior chefs who then train their students and we oversee the standard and give them a qualification at the same time.”
IEA is also working with Express Freight Management to support PNG’s next generation of logistics personnel. This is particularly important for a PNG mining sector reliant on effective sea, air and road transportation.
“These are the areas where soft skills are key,” Pedley said. “There are technical aspects to these industries, but it’s largely about sensible planning and effective training of procedures, which companies and employees typically don’ have in PNG.
“So that’s how we interlink with PNG companies and also the youth of the country.”
IEA’s mission is for its students to make an effective contribution to the companies for which they work, with a goal to train leaders who can rise up the ranks and take on management roles.
Pedley used the example of former Ok Tedi managing director and chief executive officer Musje Werror, who was the keynote speaker at IEA’s graduation ceremony earlier this year.
“Musje was born in West Papua (in Indonesia) but grew up in Papua New Guinea, and he rose right to the top of Ok Tedi,” Pedley said. “That’s the sort of goal we want for our students.”
Through its existing operations and emerging development projects, the PNG mining sector has an important role to play in not only supplying the world with important minerals but also providing career opportunities for the country’s population.
And educational institutions such as the IEA College of TAFE will key players as part of this process, enabling the next generation of miners to realise and take advantage of their professional opportunities.
