Building internal pipeline of talent is hugely important for the future of maintenance. With the aging maintenance workforce population in Australia, and slimming talent pool to recruit from, building the capability of maintenance professionals requires development within the organisation. Traditionally, Reliability and continuous improvement positions are leveraged via entrance into the maintenance world within mining, attracting diverse pool of applicants. With most of the learning and development left solely to the time spent in the role, and new employees finding their own way to develop core skills needed to be successful in maintenance roles. Over time, these reliability positions saw a huge churn, varying from 6 months to 18 months. Job dissatisfaction and role clarity were the key drivers behind this turnover.

We’ll explore the 6 months Reliability Capability program we developed to provide role clarity and deepen understanding of technical, professional &leadership skills. The program incorporated education, exposure, and experiential learning elements to elevate capability of 200 plus reliability engineers and specialists across organisation.

• Engagement and support from maintenance managers was paramount to program’s success
• Showcasing real life case studies of work that was being executed within the business, set a tone for enthusiasm and motivation to learn and grow as an organisation
• Majority of the learning happens outside the class. It’s important to build an  ‘experience’ piece within the program

Key take-aways and learning will include:

• Examining the Reliability Capability program we produced to enhance role clarity and deepen technical, leadership and professional skills of reliability professionals who were from diverse backgrounds
• Why and how we developed internal and external contributors, presenters, facilitators, content developers, and engaged with key internal stakeholders to ensure buy-in from leadership, and reward for participants
• The importance of delivering virtual programs through support of external vendors, internal support teams