BTC Urges Mining Industry to Put Skills at the Centre of Digital Transformation

BTC Urges Mining Industry to Put Skills at the Centre of Digital Transformation. Botswana TeleCommunications (BTC) has urged the mining industry to place greater emphasis on workforce development, saying the success of digital transformation will depend on equipping employees with the skills needed to operate emerging technologies.

Speaking at the Future of Mining Summit, BTC Chief Digital Solutions Officer Abel McErick said the mining sector is increasingly investing in technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation and data analytics. However, he warned that workforce skills are not advancing at the same pace as technological adoption.

Dr. McErick said mining companies are introducing advanced systems while relying on skill sets that have not evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing industry. “We are buying the machines of 2035 and staffing them with the skills of 2005,” he said, highlighting what he described as a growing gap between technological progress and workforce readiness.

He stressed that preparing employees for new digital roles should be a priority as mining operations continue to modernise.

According to Dr. McErick, addressing the challenge will require collaboration between government, industry and educational institutions. He called for joint efforts to develop reskilling programmes and modernise training so that Botswana can build the talent needed to support the next generation of mining operations.

The remarks underscore the increasing importance of human capital as mining companies adopt digital technologies to improve productivity and efficiency. While artificial intelligence, automation and advanced data analytics are becoming more common across the sector, Dr. McErick maintained that technology alone will not determine the industry’s future.