The Broader Picture

Alongside academic learning, schools and colleges are essential for providing students with knowledge and understanding about the world they live in. Likewise, the extractive industry does not only offer learning opportunities directly linked to the curriculum but it also offers the chance for our future generation to gain a broader picture of the world outside their classroom.

Informed customer choices

Most of us realise that the extractive industry does exist but many of us do not realise just to what extent the extractive industry impacts our everyday lives. Understanding the role of the extractive industry in our everyday lives, being fully informed about the products we use, where the materials and components come from that are required to produce them, and the future demands for materials and products, will enable our future generation to have a more informed customer choice. (See what’s yours is mined to find out more details)

Citizenship

Learning about the extractive industry provides an opportunity to develop an understanding of how the products we consume affect other people, both positively and negatively, at a local and a global scale, and of the responsibility we all have to ensure that our lifestyles do not adversely affect the lives or impinge the rights of others. It provides the opportunity for students to develop the ability to ask questions and think critically about issues, to consider the rights and responsibilities of different groups of people, to listen to others, express and justify points of view, and make informed choices between alternatives.

Sustainability

Learning about the extractive industry develops an understanding of the importance of sustainable development in the extractive industry, that unless we conserve our resources and care for our environment the high standard of living and quality of life that we all enjoy cannot be sustained into the future. The extractive industry offers opportunities to investigate sustainable consumption and production of raw materials and the tools and approaches to assist in a sustainable industry.

Shifting image

The extractive industry at present has the challenge of attracting the next generation of extractive industry professionals. A more informed younger generation has implications for our future – no extractive industry professionals equals no resources.