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SME Executive Director keynotes CMA breakfast

By John Hayden posted 04-16-2014 07:33 PM

  
On April 16, SME's Executive Director Dave Kanagy was the keynote speaker at the Colorado Mining Association's industry breakfast at the CMA's 116th National Western Conference and Exhibit.





Kanagy talked about workforce trends in the US mining industry and the pressures facing the mining industry to replace the current wave of retiring baby boomers.  The best statistic from SME's research on the current mining workforce that resonates the most is that only ¼ of 1% of the U.S. workforce is employed in mining, however that small number accounts for about 14% of the total value of the US economy.  If you learn no other anecdote about the mining industry, commit this one to memory and use it often when talking with your elected officials, the media or the general public next time some asks why we still mine in the US!



Faced with the prospect that we still expect to lose at least 128,000 workers in the mining industry by 2019 and 221,000 by 2029, the employment future is bright for graduates with mining engineering degrees.  Since 2004, the number of graduates with BS and MS degrees in this discipline has increased from about 80 to 311 in 2013.  While the global downturn in commodities may not allow graduates to have 4 or 5 offers of employment as they did in recent boom times, as Kanagy said, all you need is one solid offer. Thankfully, demand is still currently outstripping supply for mining engineers.  And, with starting salaries second only to petroleum engineers, mining engineers have a bright future ahead of them - as does this industry.  
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