Manpower for coal mining: supply, demand, and training

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1977

OSTI ID:7289877

Friedman, B S

This report assesses current and potential demand for coal-mining manpower and reviews the training and retraining programs designed to produce the work force required as the nation turns more and more to coal in order to lessen its dependence on foreign coal. A similar assessment is made regarding professional staff, particularly mining and coal preparation engineers. The industry has demonstrated capacity to recruit and train--or start training--coal mine employees apparently ample for its expanding needs. Barring precipitous drops in productivity, and barring wars, embargoes, and significant declines in unemployment--the coal industry is not expected to suffer a nation-wide manpower shortage in the next decade. Local and regional shortages of skilled workers and supervisors may occur, however; but these can probably be avoided. Shortage or no shortage, there is as always the need to improve the technical proficiency and safety-consciousness of the current work force as well as the new hires--particularly so since mining has become heavily mechanized. Recruiting efforts should be selective, i.e., emphasizing calibre and potential--and launched only when and where job opportunities can be identified. Currently, coal mining and coal preparation engineers are in short supply. Several recommendations are presented. (LTN)

• Research Organization: Energy Research and Development Administration, Washington, D.C. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7289877
• Report Number(s): TID-27669
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
012000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
016000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Health & Safety
COAL MINING
COAL PREPARATION
EDUCATION
ENGINEERING
MANPOWER
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
PERSONNEL
SAFETY
USA