The International Competence Center for Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO, in partnership with the National Association of Mining Engineers and Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, has developed the International Standard for the Training of Mining Industry Engineers (ISREE). The proposal to draw up a document setting out uniform requirements for mining specialists in Russia, Africa, and other countries was put forward during the Russia–Africa forum, which brought together representatives of professional communities from Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Botswana, Benin, Mali, Kenya, and South Africa. The results of a UNESCO project to develop a similar system will serve as the basis for the new standard.
As is well known, the African continent possesses the richest reserves of mineral resources. Their extraction plays a key role today not only for African states but also for the entire global economy, the participants in the discussions noted. All the more stringent, therefore, are the requirements for specialists working in this field.
Financial institutions and global commodity markets, when evaluating mining companies and making investment decisions, are increasingly taking ESG factors into account (Ed. Note - a concept of sustainable business development that assesses companies not only by financial indicators but also by their impact on the environment, adherence to ethical principles, as well as their treatment of employees, partners, and society as a whole). Players that do not meet these conditions risk facing difficulties in attracting financing and a deterioration in their market positions.
The key problem identified by experts is the absence of a unified system for assessing the professional skills of mining engineers. Each country adheres to its own standards for such assessment. They are highly fragmented, and sometimes altogether absent, which creates serious obstacles to the development of the industry. Labor mobility is constrained, and the inflow of foreign investment is hampered.
- Our industry is unique. The competencies of a mining engineer differ from those of engineers in other fields. For example, in Kenya, there is a general assessment mechanism, but ‘miners’ are again not singled out as a separate category. And since mining is actively developing in this country, it is interested in cooperating with us. Kenya’s mining development strategies set out ideas consonant with our proposals, but these are only strategies, without practical tools. And we have a practical tool that we are ready to offer. Therefore, we see an opportunity to create it in an international format, -says Vyacheslav Zyrin, Executive Director of the National Association of Mining Engineers.
For their part, the specialists themselves need simple and clear requirements for skills, a way to confirm them, and assistance in identifying new knowledge in the areas of ethics, safety, environment, and finance. It is also important to understand how to apply them in practice. All of this is set out in the new Standard.
Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has its own integrated system for training mining engineers and a well-calibrated standard that provides for their further development. An engineer, upon joining an enterprise, does not stop developing; he must continue to acquire competencies. In this way, a full cycle of engineer development is ensured, from education to employment.
Its authors clarify that the Standard is not intended to displace existing regulations; its task is to create an additional level of assessment that unites various systems and establishes common requirements for specialists in the mineral resources sector.
Also, on the sidelines of the Russia–Africa Dialogue, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) and the National Association of Mining Engineers (NAME).
- A large-scale reform of the education system is currently underway in Kenya, from kindergarten to university. They are interested in the Russian experience and are ready to adapt our approaches. As of now, we have very little cooperation with this country, so this agreement will give us an opportunity to cooperate not only in the development of engineers’ competencies, but also to develop student and youth projects, - noted Vyacheslav Zyrin.
- Africa is experiencing a critically important period that requires a transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy. To achieve this, it is necessary to attain a sufficient level of energy supply, the availability of qualified labor, raw materials, and industrial and technological sovereignty. The creation of the Memorandum and the international standard is of great importance for both sides. Provision is made for professional and technical exchange between engineers of Kenya and mining experts from Russia, the joint development and implementation of programs of continuing professional development, as well as joint work on regional and international cooperation in the field of mining industry development and industrial progress. Our partnership with NAME and, in essence, with the Russian mining community will lead to closer joint efforts to ensure development and prosperity free from colonialism, - stated the President of the Kenyan Association of Engineers, Shamma Kiteme.
ISREE can serve as a model and precedent for other regions as well, including Latin America and Eurasia.