Human resources are a company's foundations. To SMM, which includes "respect for people and human rights" as one of its Six Key CSR Areas, development of human resources is an integral part of the company's own growth process. With our sights on the CSR Vision for 2020, having learned from the Sumitomo Business Spirit what it means to work for a corporation, SMM looks to nurture human resources who are capable of operating on the world stage and who society can trust.
As implied in the expression, "A business depends on its people," human resources development is indispensable for the development of a corporation. It is suffice to say that the growth of SMM has been upheld by an environment where employees work on personal advancement through their jobs, predominantly in the form of on-the-job training (OJT) involving systematic acquisition of knowledge, skills and techniques.
In the context of global business expansion, the key to achieving our target of becoming a major player in the non-ferrous metals industry will be to develop human resources who can make decisions in line with standards acceptable to the international community. We believe human resources who meet the expectations of society will play a vital role in realizing the CSR Vision for 2020 prescribed by the SMM Group when CSR activity was launched.
There is a growing need in this day and age for human resources capable of operating overseas, with the ability to see the big picture, and for education teaching skills and technology in order to enhance manufacturing capability. Programs are therefore reviewed once every year to ensure constant improvements to the standard of education.
SMM is advancing development and hiring of human resources capable of operating outside Japan to support the operation of an increasing number of overseas mines. Excellent communication skills are vital for participation in project teams whose members are from different cultures and speak different languages. All newlyrecruited university graduates at Head Office undergo a two-month overseas training program as part of efforts to improve conversation skills and adaptability to foreign cultures.
In the case of mining specialists, our aim is to nurture personnel who will be able to take charge of overseas mines 20 years hence.
A typical career for mining engineers in the mineral exploration and extraction field begins with 3-4 years learning the basics of mine operation, mining technology and safety management at the Hishikari Mine (Isa City, Kagoshima Prefecture). They might then spend around three years gaining experience in overseas mine operations at the Pogo Mine (Alaska, USA), which is administered and operated by SMM, before returning to Japan to learn management for a few years. After joining the ranks of management, mining engineers get to improve their skills in project planning, evaluation and management while gaining management experience at domestic and overseas mines. Our human resources development framework works in this way.
It is SMM’s human resources development policy to nurture employees properly over time, engaging in career development with a view to the long term in 10-year stages.
The fact that SMM operates its own mines is an enormous advantage for human resources development. In fact, we consider Hishikari Mine to be a “mining school.” Right from when they join as new recruits, employees gain general onsite experience in areas such as labor management and safety control, and inherit specific expertise for site operation from supervisors and superiors with many years of experience. Education about accounting and other administrative processes at mines is available not only to administrative employees, but also to engineers.
While it is naturally important, for operating a mine, to acquire knowledge, skills and techniques, it is also necessary to be constantly aware of, and respond to, social and environmental matters, maintaining friendly relations with local citizens and working closely with government authorities and related bodies. By allowing employees to develop and refine such a broad operational sense early on through OJT, we steadily develop human resources who will exert leadership in the future at mines worldwide.
Every year SMM conducts a training exercise for newly-promoted personnel and new employees involving climbing in the area around the former Besshi Copper Mine, where painstaking treeplanting efforts have returned the forest to its lush green state. It is an opportunity for employees to see first-hand what their predecessors achieved over the years, providing insight into Sumitomo history and the Sumitomo Business Spirit.
Equipment-related training is conducted for front-line operators at the Human Resources Development Center's Oji-kan facility, which opened in 2009 in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture. The aim of the training, whereby participants acquire the knowledge and skills required for independent maintenance and management of equipment, is to raise facility operation rates and enhance manufacturing capability.
The SMM Group Human Rights Regulation was revised in 2010 to the new SMM Group Policy on Human Rights, the objectives being to acknowledge the human rights situation in the world today and to promote related efforts group-wide. The policy sets forth basic principles for dealing with the various human rights issues that could arise in Japan or overseas, including such global problems as child labor and forced labor. We will now look to upgrade educational tools based on the policy and endeavor to respect the rights of people around the world.
