Building skills. Creating careers.
Strengthening communities for generations.

We specialise in transforming the economic opportunity produced by mining into lasting human opportunity – creating a legacy that lasts beyond the mine.

Mining can create more than jobs.

Mining People Foundation works alongside communities, mining organisations, governments and development partners to turn the economic opportunity created by mining into lasting human opportunity.

We invest in education, recognised skills, career pathways and local enterprise so that people can realise their potential, families can build more prosperous futures and communities can thrive long beyond the life of a mine.

Across the world, major mining developments are bringing investment, infrastructure and employment into regions where economic opportunities have historically been limited.

We work alongside communities and industry to ensure that mining investment develops people as well as projects - building the skills, careers, schools, businesses, and local capability that can continue to create opportunity for generations.

Two young boys hugging and smiling happily outdoors.

From mining investment to lasting opportunity

OUR APPROACH

Mining People Foundation is an international NGO working to ensure that communities living alongside the world's mineral wealth share meaningfully in the opportunities these resources create.

We believe the true legacy of mining should be measured not only by what is taken from the ground, but by what is built above it - skilled people, stronger schools, sustainable careers, local leaders, thriving businesses and greater opportunity for generations to come.

Mining can bring significant investment, employment and economic activity to a region. But without deliberate investment in local people and local capability, too much of that opportunity can pass communities by.

We work alongside mining organisations, communities, governments, schools, training providers and development partners to help close that gap.

Our role is to turn economic opportunity into lasting local opportunity - connecting education to skills, skills to careers, and careers to greater economic security, resilience and prosperity.

OUR VISION

A world where mineral wealth creates lasting human opportunity -  empowering the communities closest to it with the education, skills and economic opportunity to build prosperous, resilient futures for generations to come.

OUR MISSION

Mining People Foundation works alongside communities, mining organisations, governments and development partners to build a stronger future together.

By turning the opportunity created by mining into investment in education, skills, careers and local enterprise, we help people realise their potential, strengthen families and build thriving, resilient communities with opportunities that endure for generations.

We invest in people – and the communities around them

WHAT WE DO

Training can change an individual's prospects. But lasting change requires more. Mining People Foundation brings together a series of programmes designed to help mining investment create sustainable human and economic opportunity.

  • Construction workers in safety gear, including yellow and white hard hats, discussing at a work site with rocky background.

    Education & Skills

    We help local people develop recognised, transferable skills connected to genuine employment opportunities.

    Working with mining organisations, employers and education providers, we identify the skills needed and help create appropriate vocational, technical and professional pathways.

    Wherever possible, qualifications are recognised beyond one employer or mine so that the skills people develop remain valuable throughout their careers.

  • Large dump trucks parked in a row at a mining site on a cloudy day, with workers standing nearby.

    Career Pathways

    A first job should be the beginning of a career.

    We connect training to apprenticeships, work experience, mentoring, and employment opportunities, and support people as they progress into more skilled, supervisory, professional, and leadership positions.

    Our ambition is to see today's trainees become tomorrow's technicians, supervisors, managers, trainers and leaders.

  • Large group of workers in yellow and black uniforms attending a presentation in a warehouse or industrial facility.

    Community Education

    A skilled worker needs more than a good job to build a future locally. Their family needs opportunity too.

    Through our Community Education Compacts, we can work alongside mining companies, governments, schools and development partners to strengthen education within mining communities.

    That could mean investing in teachers, classrooms, science and technology, digital access, laboratories, school leadership, scholarships or pathways into technical education, apprenticeships and university.

    Better education strengthens the whole community while developing the next generation of local talent.

  • Two construction workers, a woman and a man, are on a construction site. The woman is seated in machinery, wearing a yellow hard hat and a reflective safety vest, with her hands on the controls. The man, standing next to her, is wearing an orange hard hat, a red safety vest, and has yellow ear protection around his neck. He is pointing to something in the distance, explaining or instructing.

    Women into Skilled Careers

    Talent should never be determined by gender.

    We create pathways for women and girls to access technical education, recognised qualifications, skilled careers and leadership opportunities in sectors and occupations where women have historically been underrepresented.

    Our focus extends beyond entry into employment. We want women to have the opportunity to progress into technical, supervisory, professional and leadership positions.

  • Large yellow mining dump truck on dirt road under a partly cloudy sky at a mining site.

    Local Trainers & Leaders

    The strongest skills programmes eventually need fewer outside trainers, not more.

    We identify experienced local workers, technicians, and educators and help them develop into accredited trainers, assessors, and mentors.

    Over time, knowledge moves into the community itself, allowing people who once benefited from training to develop the next generation.

  • Students in a computer lab working on desktop computers with a teacher demonstrating on a large screen.

    Local Enterprise

    The economic opportunity created by a mine extends far beyond direct employment.

    Mining operations require construction, transport, logistics, maintenance, catering, agriculture, environmental services, fabrication, technology and many other goods and services.

    We help local businesses develop the skills, systems, and standards they need to compete for these opportunities while encouraging them to build customer bases beyond mining.

    The aim is to create businesses that can grow with the mine  -  but do not depend upon it forever.

  • Group of people standing and kneeling outdoors near a chain-link fence, holding certificates, with some wearing safety vests and helmets, under a clear sky.

    Household Prosperity

    A higher salary can improve life today. Used well, it can also change the opportunities available to the next generation.

    We help people develop the financial knowledge to turn increased earnings into greater long-term security through savings, education, housing, assets and enterprise.

    The objective is to help one generation's employment opportunity become greater opportunity for the next.

  • A construction worker in a yellow safety vest and a white hard hat, wearing yellow protective earmuffs, stands with crossed arms and gives a thumbs-up inside a construction site.

    Beyond the Mine

    Every mine has a finite life. Skills and human potential do not.

    We prioritise transferable capabilities and support communities to develop businesses and careers that can continue beyond mining.

    By thinking about mine legacy from the beginning rather than at closure, we can help communities use today's period of investment to prepare for tomorrow's economy.

“Every mine has a finite life.
Skills and human potential do not.”

 

HOW WE WORK

Partnership creates lasting change

No single organisation can create sustainable community development alone. Mining People Foundation brings together the organisations that each hold part of the solution.

  • Construction workers in safety gear, including yellow and white hard hats, discussing at a work site with rocky background.

    Communities

    Local ambitions, priorities and an understanding of the barriers people face.

  • Large dump trucks parked in a row at a mining site on a cloudy day, with workers standing nearby.

    Mining Organisations

    Funding, apprenticeships, employment, expertise and supply chain opportunities.

  • Large group of workers in yellow and black uniforms attending a presentation in a warehouse or industrial facility.

    Governments

    Schools, teachers, technical education, qualifications and infrastructure.

  • Two construction workers, a woman and a man, are on a construction site. The woman is seated in machinery, wearing a yellow hard hat and a reflective safety vest, with her hands on the controls. The man, standing next to her, is wearing an orange hard hat, a red safety vest, and has yellow ear protection around his neck. He is pointing to something in the distance, explaining or instructing.

    Education Providers

    Training that turns opportunity into recognised skills and qualifications.

  • Large yellow mining dump truck on dirt road under a partly cloudy sky at a mining site.

    Development Partners

    Funding and expertise across education, livelihoods, enterprise and resilience.

Invest in people. Build capability. Create a lasting legacy.

FOR MINING ORGANISATIONS

Mining companies increasingly recognise that developing a sustainable local workforce requires more than recruitment.

Mining People Foundation provides an independent way for mining organisations and their suppliers to invest in the people and communities surrounding their operations.

We can work alongside your organisation to understand future workforce requirements, identify local skills gaps, and develop programmes that connect education, recognised training, apprenticeships, careers, and local enterprise.

We can also seek to bring in other partners and funding sources around that investment, helping corporate contributions create wider community impact.

The result is more than a pipeline of local talent.

It is an opportunity to help build stronger schools, skilled communities, local leaders, sustainable businesses, and a legacy that extends beyond the mine's operating life.

Connecting social investment to real economic opportunity.

FOR FUNDERS & DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

Mining People Foundation offers funders something distinctive - the opportunity to connect investment in education, employment and economic development with a significant existing economic engine.

Mining companies know where future jobs and procurement demand will exist. Governments control public education and skills systems. Development organisations understand poverty, inequality, livelihoods and community resilience. Communities understand what people need to build successful lives locally.

We connect those capabilities.

For philanthropic foundations and development organisations, the proposition is not to support the mining industry.

It is to invest in people and communities experiencing major economic change because of natural-resource development - and to use that moment of change to create lasting improvements in education, skills, employment, enterprise and economic mobility.

OUR IMPACT

We measure what happens next

Traditional training programmes often measure enrolment and completion. We want to measure development. Our programmes will look beyond the immediate intervention to understand what happens over three, five, ten and potentially twenty years.

We want to know whether people remain in skilled employment, increase their earnings, progress into leadership roles, start businesses, become trainers, build household assets, and improve educational opportunities for their children.

We will also examine whether communities become better able to retain and develop their own talent and whether local economies become less dependent on a single mining operation.

The question at the heart of our impact model is simple:

“What changed in this community because we invested in its people?”

Close-up of a woman with long brown hair, blue eyes, and earrings, smiling slightly, sitting against a brick wall.

Rebecca Spencer

Chief Executive Officer

Rebecca is CEO of Mining People Foundation and an international development leader with more than 20 years’ experience spanning social impact, strategic partnerships, communications and resource mobilisation. Her career has taken her from working as a photojournalist in conflict-affected and refugee communities to partnering with NGOs to deliver grassroots programmes across health, education, conflict resolution and community empowerment, including award-winning health initiatives.

 Witnessing first-hand the impact of conflict, displacement and inequality has shaped Rebecca’s belief in the transformative power of education. She has seen how access to knowledge, skills and opportunity can change not only individual lives, but the prospects of families and future generations.

At Mining People Foundation, Rebecca brings that experience and conviction together, building global, cross-sector partnerships and mobilising resources to expand access to education, strengthen communities and create sustainable, measurable impact for current and future generations.

GET INVOLVED

Build lasting opportunity with us

Creating sustainable change in mining communities requires partnership.

We want to work alongside mining organisations, suppliers, governments, education providers, foundations, development organisations and communities that share our belief that mineral wealth should create lasting human opportunity.

Whether you want to fund a programme, develop local talent, strengthen education, support enterprise or explore a partnership in a mining community, we would like to hear from you.

Together, we can turn today's mineral opportunity into a legacy that lasts for generations.

Start a conversation
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Building skills. Creating careers.
Strengthening communities for generations.

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