Siemens has handed over automation equipment and industrial networks to Anglo American Platinum's Engineering Skills Training Centre (ESTC).
Established in 1984, ESTC aims to provide engineering skills training to student and training miners in an effort to support the growing demand for qualified artisans in various sectors of the economy.
According to the automation giant, industrial networks and security are among the important pillars of digitalisation in the mining sector. The recent donation is a culmination of a seven-year partnership between the organisations, which aims to help training engineers understand the role of the technology in the future of mining.
New technology trends in mining, in the form of mining software and innovations in water resilience, are offering great opportunities for efficiency gains and are worth investigating for adaptation across the sector. There is an opportunity, especially in Africa to embrace new and exponential technologies combined with human talent to accelerate industrialisation while driving economic growth, notes Siemens.
Gary Humphries, Anglo American Platinum's executive head for processing, explains: "Siemens and Anglo American Platinum have been in partnership since 2010 and we have seen approximately 298 artisans successfully trained and qualified at this centre. This vital contribution by Siemens to ESTC will significantly contribute towards the development of the human resource capabilities of our artisans and will help broaden the thinking of the students to explore new career capabilities."
According to Deloitte mining 2018 edition of Tracking the Trends Report, there are a few earmarked trends for 2018 in the mining sector, which include using data-driven insights to drive value and overcoming innovation barriers.
"Technologies like robotic process automation and artificial intelligence will enable core mining activities to be performed from locations that can support a more diverse and inclusive workforce," stated the report.
"These new technologies will turn the mining value chain upside down, disrupting both existing business models and the traditional roles and relationships among mining companies and their customers, suppliers, and even competitors."
A few weeks ago Siemens announced that it had handed over industrial automation equipment, which includes programming software, programmable logic controller and IIOT training, to institutions based in SA, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya.
The company injected around R5.5 million into the project, through the equipment aimed at boosting skills in networking interface, programming and electronics, among others.
"As we are setting the pace for digitalisation in industry, we understand the importance of our role to contribute to the necessary training and development skills required to equip Africa in this digital age. We believe digitalisation can bridge the blue and white collar worker, to create what is termed the 'grey collar' worker," says Keshin Govender, group head of corporate communications at Siemens.
"This implies humans and machines not competing for jobs, but rather working together and creating the need for a new type of talent. The challenge is whether or not government and industry are investing enough into the development of these skills."
Through ESTC, Anglo American Platinum says it intends to further ramp up its commitment to meet its customer's needs by expanding its portfolio for digital enterprises and supporting customers in the manufacturing and process industries with digitalisation, customisation and efficiency improvements while investing in equipping our future generation with the right skills.
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