Mineral processing engineer to mine health and safety engineer
A mineral processing engineer already meets 40% of what the mine health and safety engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.2/ 100
1 How much of what a mine health and safety engineer is expected to do is already part of a mineral processing engineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the mine health and safety engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A mine health and safety engineer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a mineral processing engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- address problems critically
- ensure compliance with safety legislation
- geology
- maintain records of mining operations
- prepare scientific reports
- supervise staff
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A mine health and safety engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a mineral processing engineer background worth leading with.
- already held maintain records of mining operations information skills
- already held impact of geological factors on mining operations engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held prepare scientific reports communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held geology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held ensure compliance with safety legislation assisting and caring
- already held supervise staff management skills
All 8 carried skills, including the 6 the mine health and safety engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn mine safety legislation required
- still to learn electricity required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- optional, not held mining engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- still to learn develop health and safety strategies in mining required
- still to learn manage emergency procedures required
- still to learn investigate mine accidents required
- optional, not held inspect mine safety conditions optional
- optional, not held monitor employee's health optional
- still to learn train employees in mine safety required
- optional, not held present reports optional
- still to learn prevent health and safety problems required
- optional, not held health and safety hazards underground optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a mine health and safety engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 prevent health and safety problems practise this
- 02 investigate mine accidents practise this
- 03 mine safety legislation study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 8 skills that carry over
- already held address problems critically skill
- already held ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
- already held geology knowledge
- already held maintain records of mining operations skill
- already held prepare scientific reports skill
- already held supervise staff skill
- already held impact of geological factors on mining operations knowledge
- already held troubleshoot skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held inspect mine safety conditions optional
- optional, not held mining engineering optional
- optional, not held monitor employee's health optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held health and safety hazards underground optional
- optional, not held present reports optional
11 held skills the mine health and safety engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply transportation management concepts skill
- not needed by the target role bioleaching knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate on the environmental impact of mining skill
- not needed by the target role design plant waste procedures skill
- not needed by the target role develop new installations skill
- not needed by the target role manage mineral processing plant skill
- not needed by the target role manage mineral testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role mine dump design skill
- not needed by the target role monitor mine production skill
- not needed by the target role organize chemical reagents skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn mine safety legislation required
- still to learn electricity required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- optional, not held mining engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held health and safety hazards underground optional
Common questions about this move
Can a mineral processing engineer become a mine health and safety engineer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A mineral processing engineer already covers 40% of what a mine health and safety engineer is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 6 of which the mine health and safety engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a mineral processing engineer need to become a mine health and safety engineer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is prevent health and safety problems.
How hard is the move from mineral processing engineer to mine health and safety engineer?
Its learning distance is 57.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.