The extractive industry as a development industry? Only through mineral skills development

With the extractive industry remaining as the biggest single contributor to projected continued growth in African GDP, the opportunities for social and economic transformation through the industry are significant. The potential development role of the extractive industry is clearly defined in the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), but its advancement is currently limited by the shortage of skills in and surrounding the industry. This paper argues that only through addressing the shortage of mineral skills, defined as going beyond the narrowly defined technical requirements of the extraction process, can the extractive industry realise its development potential. As skills initiatives are currently happening in a fragmented fashion, this will also necessitate a coordinated effort for skills development and joint capacity building of institutions. This paper points to the African Mineral Development Centre (AMDC) and the AMV as the right home for this coordination, but argues that incentives and drivers for all parties to participate must be identified and addressed to support this. In addition, it is suggested that methodologies for 'skills outlook' and long- term planning be applied, based on international models, in combination with continuous dialogue between all relevant sectors.