Millennials and Gen Zs hold the key to creating a ‘better normal’, according to Deloitte in its Global Millennial Survey 2020.
When COVID-19 hit, organisations around the world showed their agility in changing the way they operate to be able to weather the initial storm of the pandemic.
This agility and resilience will be needed as organisations chart a course forward, according to the report.
“These shifts have resulted in significant changes and new uncertainties about the underpinnings of business and society that resilient leaders must address,” the report said. “At the same time, leaders have the opportunity to reboot business with new perspectives and more ambitious goals.”
The world’s emerging generations, millennials, born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, and Gen Zs, born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, were found to be incredibly resilient during the pandemic.
WA Mining Club Young Professionals Chair Josh Snow agrees with the resilience of the emerging generations, which he witnessed first-hand with the Young Professionals Committee’s ability to shift the way their industry network events operate when COVID-19 hit.
Since its launch in 2018, the program has seen a number of young professionals join with aim to establish a career-long network of individuals who are building their careers in mining.
Deloitte’s report reinforced the effectiveness of the emerging generations in responding to the pandemic, saying: “When historians assess the effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on society, the response of millennials and Generation Z will be notable.
“Battle-hardened by the trying circumstances that have shaped their generations from the beginning, the younger generations are remaining steadfast, refusing to compromise their values – and that attitude may ultimately help change society.
“While it’s too early to know the long-term impacts of the pandemic on any age group, the 2020 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey reveals younger generations whose resilience and determination will surely shape the world that emerges.”
According to the report, organisations that wish to increase their resilience over the long term need to listen to their younger workers.
“Employers should promote dialogue with these generations, listen to their concerns, and strive to understand why certain issues really matter to them,” it said. “Leaders also should ask for input on how they can make the workplace more accommodating and flexible, help employees prepare for the future by providing training and tools that enable them to succeed, and better enable people to realise both their personal and professional ambitions.”
The WA Mining Club works to encourage and foster the development of the next generation of leaders within Western Australia’s mining sector through its annual scholarships program which offers $10,000 scholarships to students in various mining-related disciplines in conjunction with industry co-sponsors.
This year, eight scholarships totalling $80,000 were awarded to outstanding individuals in the following fields: Geology, Female Student in a Technical Discipline in the Mining Sector, Resource Related Engineering Discipline, Mining Engineering, Environmental Sciences in the Mining Sector, Indigenous Students who wish to work in the mining sector, and Metallurgy.
The club also supports Fire Tech Australia’s STEM UnitED school program aimed at promoting careers in STEM, specifically within the mining sector, to Western Australian Year Nine students.
