Local Workforce Selection & Development
A Globe Case Study in Madagascar
In August 2018, Globe was engaged by Base Resources Ltd (Base) to develop a Local Assessment & Training Pathways Plan (LATPP) for the Toliara Mineral Sands Project in Madagascar. The purpose of this assignment was to assist Base identify and select suitable members from the mine site’s neighbouring communities for future training and employment opportunities.
To complete the assignment, Globe was specifically required to:
- Develop a suite of unbiased assessment tools adapted to the local Malagasy context;
- Provide a transparent, fair and open assessment and selection process to ensure everyone who wanted to, had the chance to participate, regardless of education level; and
- Train & upskill Base’s local in-country team to conduct the assessments themselves for future candidate testing beyond the duration of this assignment.
The assignment was broken into 2 parts:
1. Part 1 – Pilot (September 2018):
The Pilot Phase was a critical first step to establish the tools, processes and schedule to successfully conduct assessments and screening of candidates from the local community. Globe sourced and/or developed tests specific to Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN); cognitive abilities; and basic skillscompetency. Once the plan was created, Globe “calibrated” the chosen tests by conducting pilot testing with subsets of Base’s existing Malagasy employees.
2. Part 2 – Full Project Execution (February to April 2019):
Based on the results of the Pilot testing in Part 1, Globe then:
- Assessed ~1,000 local candidates from the mine site’s neighbouring communities in Ravens (cognitive ability), Dover (basic skillscompetency measurement) & LLN (developed by Globe) to build a database of screened candidates for selection in Base’s work and community training programs.
- Provided training, on-thejob practice and competency assessment for Base’s local team members to become proficient and autonomous in administering and interpreting the se-lected tests for future purposes.
PROJECT EXECUTION – Pilot Program (August 2018)
Assesments
It was determined that the following two (2) assessments would be deployed and ‘tested’ in order to establish local norms in preparation for the larger Assessment Program (refer Part 2):
1. The Language, Literacy and Numeracy assessments were selected to assess each candidate’s reading comprehension; knowledge of language conventions; and knowledge of numerical concepts. These elements are essential across most operational roles and inform future learning pathways and delivery methods. To ensure the program’s LLN’s were contextually correct to Madagascar, Globe adapted the Australian Qualification Framework LLN standards.
2. The Ravens Assessment was selected as the cognitive test to be used. It was paper based, language and education background independent, and culturally neutral. Ravens is designed to measure the test taker’s cognitive functioning including clear thinking, problem identification, meaning and new insight formation, and learning capability.
Each test was then mapped to individual participants according to their education level in order to give everyone an opportunity to be fairly assessed:
Group 1 – < 3 years school
Group 2 – 3-6 years school
Group 3 – > 6 years school
Group 4 – Trade qualified
Group 5 – Graduate degree or above
The Dover Assessment is a competency measurement tool that was also selected for this project but did not need ‘calibration’ and so was held over to Phase 2. Dover assesses a candidate’s underlying practical skills, including but not limited to hand, eye, foot and basic manual co-ordination, reaction, auditory discrimination, estimation of speed / direction, basic decisionmaking abilities. Dover is a valuable tool for candidate selection as it helps to identify a candidate’s suitability for certain occupations (in particularly high risk areas – construction skills). It also useful to measure a candidate’s ‘trainability’ for jobs involving equipment handling. Pilot Program Findings & Results In total, 71 candidates participated in the pilot program and were tested. Testing was conducted in three locations: Tana, Toliara and just north of Mangily in order to “test the tests” in realistic conditions. Based on these results, the tests were calibrated to fit the local conditions.
PROJECT EXECUTION – Full Program (Feb to March 2019)
Globe managed the larger scale program using a team of around twenty (20) Base employees and three (3) Globe Consultants over a five (5) week window in Feb/March 2019. The full program followed a 3-phased approach.
Phase 1 – Candidate Call Out & Registration
The Candidate Call Out was initially made to neighbouring communities which attracted 5000 expressions of interest. Base’s HR team then selected a first wave of approx. 1000 people to be registered and during this process, all candidates were allocated into their respective Group (1 to 5).
Phase 2 – Candidate Testing
Over 5 weeks, 997 people were assessed using Ravens & LLN including:
Group 1 – 77 assessments
Group 2 – 119 assessments
Group 3 – 397 assessments
Group 4 – 404 assessments
Group 5 – 0 assessments (no graduate degree level candidate applications received in close-tomine-communities during this first wave)
Phase 3 – Candidate Recruitment & Selection for Training Pathways
The 997 assessments were recorded in a database with the top 20% from Ravens & LLN selected for Dover assessments, of which 243 were conducted. This made up 24% of the applicant pool and resulted in 135 applicants being chosen to participate in Base’s various training programs.
Local Assessor Training and Upskilling
In preparation for an additional 2000+ assessments required, Globe trained and certified 14 local Malagasy workers to become proficient and autonomous in administering and interpreting the LLN, Ravens & Dover assessments. 10 were trained in LLN & Ravens, 7 in Dover and 3 in both LLN/Ravens and Dover.
The Assessor training process was designed and organized as follows:
- Designation by Base of the individuals to be trained
- Online training prior to the commencement of the program
- Face to face training at the start of the program
- 2 weeks of observations, field training and practice on administering, marking, recording & interpreting the different test
- Assessment of the Assessors’ skills and competencies (theory and practice)
- Delivery of certificates to Base’s qualified 14 Assessors
LOCAL CONTENT
During the duration of the project, over 1,000 applicants were tested for Literacy, Numeracy and Cognitive Ability. Of these, more than 240 applicants undertook the Dover tests. This left Base in a great position to choose and orient the participants from the neighbouring communities, with priority given to those directly affected by the project. This was a great opportunity for all applicants to be a part of Base’s different training and development programs that are now being put into place for their future workforce. It also extends to wider community skills development and maximises the chances of local participation in the project, as direct employees or in supply chain functions.
INDUSTRY AND WORKFORCE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT
This assignment was much more than a local testing and selection exercise. The process and program supported Base’s great work with the local communities and helped to reinforce the positive message of the company.
In the word of Base’s onsite management, the success of the program “has had a very positive impact on our relations with the community” and Globe’s “professional expertise has really added credibility to the initiative”. Finally, one of our biggest satisfactions was to leave behind an autonomous and competent team of 14 local employees and contractors fully trained to administer, mark, record and interpret the different tests that have been used and will be used again in the future.
We have looked at this assignment as our chance to participate in the development of local African HR colleagues and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to do so.
