GCB Bank Head of People & Culture shares workforce planning strategies at Mining HR Conference

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, the Head of People & Culture at GCB Bank, Nana Kwabena Yeboah, emphasized the dual nature of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) for the mining industry. Speaking at the 7th Biennial HR Conference of the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Accra, Yeboah highlighted that these technologies present both workforce risks and opportunities that demand a reevaluation of talent planning, development, and deployment strategies.

Yeboah, a panelist during a breakout session titled “Skills and Workforce Planning in an Era of Automation, AI and Energy Transition,” moderated by Meshack Baah, Director of Human Resources at AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, stressed that the emergence of new technologies should not be seen solely as a threat to jobs but as an opportunity to create safer, smarter, and more productive workplaces.

The conference, themed “Future-Ready People: Building the Workforce for Ghana’s Next Era of Mining,” focused on talent retention, future skills, productivity, and industrial relations stability. Yeboah argued that workforce planning should move beyond traditional headcount projections to focus on the specific tasks organizations will need to perform, the required skills, and the capabilities employees must develop to remain relevant in a changing job market.

Among these critical capabilities, Yeboah identified curiosity, adaptability, resilience, and digital fluency as essential traits that organizations must foster as the nature of work evolves. He stressed that reskilling initiatives are most effective when directly linked to future roles and business requirements rather than pursued as isolated training activities, urging organizations to focus on sustained employee development.

Addressing the importance of workforce transformation, Yeboah highlighted GCB Bank's Digital Academy, where employees undergo structured digital skills development over approximately six months. He underscored that successful workforce transformation hinges on transparent communication, employee engagement, credible transition pathways, and reliable workforce data, rather than assuming employees' career aspirations.

Yeboah emphasized that organizations should recognize that not every employee desires or is suited for people management roles and encouraged employers to create dual-career pathways, enabling employees to advance through management or specialist tracks. He also advocated for the use of workforce analytics and credible local and global research to anticipate capability gaps before they become operational constraints.

Collaboration between mining companies, universities, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and other relevant partners was deemed crucial, particularly for developing specialized capabilities that require several years of training and development. Yeboah encouraged mining companies to work collectively through the Ghana Chamber of Mines to create pipelines for critical skills and manage the industry's talent supply better.

He also stressed the importance of improving women's participation and representation in the mining workforce.