Literacy and numeracy at work 

The brief

Mining for gold may be a pretty rare occupation, but the demand for a skilled workforce is just as strong as in any other workplace. OceanaGold realised it needed to develop the literacy and numeracy skills of 90 workers at two remote locations in the West Coast and Central Otago. The company identified ongoing issues that were dragging productivity down. 

For example, reports were not at the level required, due to poor writing skills, and mine operators were not moving up through the grades. As a result, the company had to employ extra staff to take care of basic tasks, such as keeping correct data records. It was time to confront the problem at the workface.

The solution

The Learning Wave conducted a learning needs analysis that led to the creation of a programme called Mind4Gold – Core Skills. This involved six one-day small group workshops, with one to two weeks between sessions so participants could absorb the lessons and start to apply them. Topics included communication strategies, problem solving and critical thinking, as well as practical subjects such as IT and Health and Safety.

Literacy and numeracy skills were subtly embedded in the programme, so that participants were able to sharpen their basic skills at the same time as they were learning how to improve performance on the job. This paid dividends in avoiding the stigma of ‘remedial reading’ that would have put off many employees.

The result

OceanaGold has seen dramatic improvements in all the areas it targeted – i.e. succession planning, health and safety reporting, communication, IT skills and staff engagement/turnover.  For instance, there has been a sharp increase in the number of hazard ID and incident reports filed. Managers also report that the level of questioning, feedback and participation in meetings has improved since the Core Skills programme.

Testing reveals that scores have gone up across the board in four out of five key literacy and numeracy measures – namely reading (vocabulary), reading (comprehension), number facts and data preparation. This indicates the effectiveness of the Learning Wave approach of embedding skills within a work-focused programme.  

According to Human Resources Manager Pat Schraven, “We got a lot more out of the programme that we expected to. It filled gaps and built skills for operators to feel more confident."  She says that “Some participants felt really honoured to be part of the programme and it was well accepted by the workforce. Management were very supportive.”

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