Evolution Mining is leading the way with a hands-on approach to learning and success for the company’s graduate program. We at TalentEgg had the chance to hear from Bianca Baghdassar, an Advisor for Organisational Development at Evolution Mining. Bianca shared what trends the company believes are important moving into the future. She also explains how its graduate program prepares students and graduates for future success within the mining sector. Lastly, Bianca goes over how diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives help create a more supportive workplace within the company and its new Inclusion Awareness Committee.

Keep reading to learn how Evolution Mining measures success in the industry and how they balance the company’s world-class graduate program in Canada and Australia!

People & Relationships at Evolution Mining

“My experience working as an Advisor at Evolution Mining has been extremely rewarding and positive. From the moment you step foot on an Evolution site, you get a sense of a people-centric and relationship-driven workplace that welcomes everybody, which (in my experience) you don’t just find at any company.” Bianca told us. The company is full of opportunities, especially for those who want to excel, push themselves out of their comfort zone and be agile, backed by Evolution Mining’s leadership team and fully supported. 

Graduate Success In The Mining Industry

The company’s graduate program aims to support the growth and development of the future workforce of Evolution Mining, in addition to addressing hard-to-fill and hard-to-retain roles. Graduates have the opportunity to develop personal, technical and commercial skills throughout a two-year program. The graduate program has been in full swing since 2013, and they still have representation in their business from every cohort, which is a massive achievement for Evolution Mining. In addition to their grad program, the company offers students opportunities for summer vacation work while completing their studies. This benefit is to give students a taste of what the mining industry looks like and hopefully gives them an experience which will persuade them to apply for the graduate program when they’re ready to do so.

Success in the mining industry is tough to narrow down. Still, success at Evolution means a high-performing culture where people are clear about the types of behaviours that we want to see and hear, in line with the company’s values. As part of its strategy, Evolution Mining aims to be a business that prospers through the cycle by generating superior returns from the company assets. It also is building a reputation for sustainability, reliability and transparency, embedding financial discipline across the business, maintaining an active pipeline of quality exploration and development projects and being open to all quality gold, silver and copper-gold investments.

Connected Across Borders

We at TalentEgg asked if there was a difference between The Canadian and Australian Graduate programs and how they are run. “The Red Lake Alberta and Australian Graduate programs are the same. We bring our graduates in for a structured two-year development program with opportunities for regular coaching, mentoring and support from leaders at our sites. The only real difference is one time, meaning we’re dialling in pretty early in the morning from Australia to connect with our Red Lake colleagues. Still, it’s all worth interacting with such awesome grads!” Bianca told us enthusiastically! 

Career Path With Evolution

Evolution Mining operates off a very successful 70:20:10 model of learning, recognizing that about 70% of a graduate’s learning is done daily by providing the graduate with meaningful and value-adding project work. 20% of learning is done through other people in a formal and informal mentoring and coaching capacity. The final 10% of learning is done through formal learning by offering opportunities for graduates performing well to complete certifications or attend external conferences, in addition to their quarterly internal workshops hosted by Evolution to develop their soft skills.

Post Pandemic Recruiiting

Evolution Mining saw the post-pandemic lifestyle as an opportunity to leverage technology in more innovative and interactive ways while recruiting new graduates. Although they had to shift to a virtual approach, the company could work with external providers to launch video interviews, psychometric assessments and host assessment centres using breakout room functions on MS Teams. Even though the process was virtual, Evolution still found ways to increase its levels of interactivity and provide candidates with an approach which was not only fun but efficient.

Future Hiring Trends & Workplace Bias

With an industry as large and expansive as mining, Bianca shared what the team at Evolution Mining believes to be at the forefront of the company’s hiring process’ moving forward.

• Increased female representation within the industry
• Larger graduate cohorts entering the business to further build on its approach to hiring the future leaders of Evolution
• Increased use of virtual recruitment tools
• Candidates looking for a workplace that will offer flexibility
• Candidates who are open to international secondments and opportunities across all our operations

Evolution works diligently to ensure its hiring process is fair for all applicants by providing multiple data points to assess candidates and their suitability for the role. This process includes resumes and cover letters, video interviews, psychometric assessments, and face-to-face interviews with a diverse panel of hiring staff.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Evolution Mining

Evolution is passionate about creating a workplace that’s inclusive and supportive, a place where everyone can indeed be themselves. In 2021, the company’s Inclusion Awareness committee was formed to play an essential role in connecting, informing and educating their employees about inclusion and diversity, including the benefits, barriers, mindsets, and conscious and unconscious biases. It is vital for Evolution Mining to constantly improve Inclusion and Diversity as they’re committed to creating more accountability and ownership as a business and from their employees. This improvement is to support the company goals for greater collaboration, more innovation and ideas, greater productivity, more revenue, more profit, and greater shareholder returns. A diverse and inclusive company is a stronger, more successful company.

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Check out Evolution Mining’s profile on TalentEgg! You’ll be able to watch an overview video of the Red Lake site and learn about the company culture at Evolution and the company’s graduate program here in Canada and Australia!