I recently had the pleasure of representing the IQA at the Institute of Quarrying Southern Africa 50th annual conference and International Presidents’ Meeting in Durban, South Africa.
The opportunity to liaise with our international peers is one I look forward to and have put much energy into since being elected chair of the International Presidents Council in 2018.
There is great consensus that we are stronger as an international group, and my focus in leading the council has been to assist in ensuring we get leverage from being an internationally affiliated group, providing networking opportunities and moving towards setting standards of education and competence globally for our industry.
During the conference, the international presidents participated in a panel session (now a common event when attending affiliated conferences as a group) to discuss global issues facing the industry. We were each asked to respond to a number of questions:
- How is each Institute of Quarrying (IQ) attracting the next generation to the industry?
- What competencies and training did each IQ provide for improvements in skill and competence, and as a pathway for career development?
{{quote-A:R-W:215-Q:"IQ connect will give quarrying professionals in other nations access to professional and technical development programs"}}While we have a changing and often challenging legislative landscape with regards to competency requirements across the country, we are well advanced in supporting the next generation of members and industry participants through our Young Members and Women in Quarrying networks, and our training packages and relationships with industry-relevant training providers.
It was encouraging to hear we are at the forefront of training and attracting people to our industry and valuable to hear from the other countries as to their environments, including South Africa’s proposed changes to its mining legislation and competencies.
The international group has been working on harnessing the global pool of training content to assist each IQ, and also as part of its global expansion aspirations.
In previous issues of Quarry I have spoken about the e-branch initiative of the International Presidents Council, which now has support and agreement on establishment. It is to be known as IQ Connect.
It is a digital platform that will give quarrying professionals in other nations without a physical IQ access to professional development, technical forums and industry relevant information.
Following my term as international chair, I have been requested by the international presidents to remain involved with this initiative and have accepted the role as chair of IQ Connect.
I’m looking forward to seeing this exciting project come to fruition and to continuing my contribution to the industry. Further information on IQ Connect, which will be available to IQA members, will be provided later this year.
Have a safe and productive month ahead!