Mexico: 17 Technical Hires in 4 Months for Copper-Gold Expansion

Sourcing talent for 17 highly technical roles for a major expansion project—in only four months—is a challenge. But it’s one this gold producer successfully overcame despite skilled labour shortages across the mining industry.

Earlier this year, a Canadian copper-gold-silver miner began recruiting for their new project—an underground mine complex in Mexico’s Guerrero Gold Belt.

The challenge

To achieve their 2024 production targets, the project immediately needed to fill 17 locally based technical roles. Their internal recruitment team were concerned that without the right people in place, they could miss this critical deadline.

Recruiting in a hot market

Globally, the mining industry is hot. So hot that recruiting the right people to lead major projects is a challenge felt by miners around the world.

The HR team was also dealing with the added complexity of recruiting for country-based, technical roles including:

• Mine Maintenance Superintendent
• Organizational Effectiveness Superintendent
• Surface Projects Superintendent
• Metallurgist
• Underground Mine Trainer
• Field Supervisors
• Talent Acquisition Specialist
• Labor Relations Officer
• Project and cost control roles

And this was against tight timelines and intense competition from other sites in the region.

So, in early 2023, they asked if we could help.

Local support

They wanted a dedicated local team who could focus solely on finding quality candidates, rather than trying to recruit from more than 3,500 kilometres away.

It meant they could remain focused on their existing operations while getting the right people in place for the new project.

How we helped

To begin with, our dedicated, on-the-ground recruiters worked with them to map the market for local talent.

Then we reviewed the employee salaries and benefits benchmarked against similar miners.

We worked closely with the team to tap into our extensive local candidate database to find suitable matches. That included recruiting an experienced Talent Acquisition Specialist and site-based Labor Relations Officer.

Having a local team with support from our recruitment specialists meant they had the best opportunity to attract and place highly skilled talent from within Mexico.

The results

They successfully filled 17 highly technical roles in only four months and met their project deadlines.

“It was a great outcome for the team to meet their recruitment goals in a tight market,” said Maíra Rosso, Regional Manager – LATAM, Globe 24-7.

“Using our dedicated recruiters with a keen knowledge of the local markets means they could access skilled talent faster to meet their deadlines.”

When you’re on the cusp of a major expansion, you can’t afford to not have the right people in place.

By working with our dedicated, local recruiters they have filled these crucial positions. That’s kept the project on track.

We’re pleased to have helped this Canadian miner with their new project in Mexico. With a full team now on board, they have the best chance of success to meet their 2024 production targets.