Our Stories
Fekola’s LAB Program Identifies Potential
August 4, 2022
In a shrinking global economy due to COVID-19, the social return on investment in the mining industry is more important than ever. The industry requires skilled workers who can drive production and function in a demanding environment. In addition, community stakeholders have high expectations for local employment, which need to be met. Local communities depend on (and expect) their industrial neighbours to provide livelihoods and opportunities for skills development.
At B2Gold’s Fekola Mine in Mali, we are proud to report that 97% of our workforce is Malian. We have achieved this through targeted recruitment and training efforts, of which the Learning Abilities Battery (LAB) testing program is a good example. LAB is designed to identify, in the surrounding communities, candidates who are well positioned for employment and who have the potential for further development.
Haphazard and hasty recruitment can result in failed training initiatives, poor staff performance, and a high staff turnover. Failed training can be caused by factors such as a low proficiency in the language of instruction, low literacy and numeracy skills, and/or the inability to comprehend text content. At the same time, traditional indicators, such as the ones mentioned above, do not necessarily reflect a candidate’s aptitude, attitude, and ability to learn and they can contain built-in cultural biases.
LEARNING ASSESSMENTS
According to Douglas Desrosiers, HR Manager at the Fekola Mine, LAB is geared to address this issue. “LAB is used to assess an ability to learn anything, and it can accommodate all levels of literacy and education – from illiterate candidates to graduates. The system also steers clear of cultural bias, which is sometimes built into traditional assessment approaches.”
LAB goes beyond the typical assessment tools used to identify persons with high potential and hidden talents. Among others, LAB assesses:
- fine motor skills, which indicate the suitability for tasks that require eye-hand coordination, for example, machine and equipment operation;
- visual perception and insight, which determine the suitability for tasks that require visual speed and accuracy and the ability to grasp what an object is, for example, ore spotting and field assistance; and
- quantitative perception, which assesses the suitability for tasks that require the ability to discriminate between large and small, far and near, many and few (i.e., an indication of a person’s grasp of basic numerical concepts), for example, administrative and clerical roles.
OPPORTUNITIES TO MANY
During 2021, a total of 210 suitable candidates from Fekola’s impact communities were identified, of whom 20% have already been recruited and 11% have benefited from training.
Hassan Ouedraogo, Community Relations Manager at Fekola, maintains that when it comes to employment opportunities, LAB also helps his team to manage subjective influence from community leadership. “LAB makes it possible for anyone within the community – no matter what their sex, education level, position in society, or familial connections are – to have an opportunity to be assessed for vacancies at the mine.”
