From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:

Mining and engineering professionals recruiter TrueVine Consulting has developed an innovative online recruitment platform, called Digger to refine and improve the execution of recruitment in the mining industry. Mia Breytenbach tells us more.

Mia Breytenbach:
Digger is a digital recruitment, talent management and staff retention solution or application (app) designed specifically for the mining industry.

Through the Digger app, mining professionals are informed directly of available positions globally on their mobile devices.

The app is the link between corporates and individuals, and eliminates the need for a third party.

Digger has been developed over the past two years.

It is expected to be launched in the first quarter of this year.

TrueVine Consulting developed the app with partners consulting agency Win Win Consulting and software company Wixels.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht tells us more.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht:
Digger is a digital recruitment, induction retention solution for the mining industry. It is a digital platform where recruitment is digitized. Instead of doing things the old way, this is the new way.

It is not a job board, it is not a social platform, this is a business tool, this is the tool you use to get recruited or to be informed of what is happening in the mining industry, community and so forth.

Mia Breytenbach:
Engelbrecht further explains on how to use and navigate the app.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht:
The first part of the app which you want to do immediately is create your Digger Profile, which is your matching engine profile. You go into drop down menus that are prepopulated, you choose your commodity, you choose your experience with any commodity, for instance engineering, or finance or marketing, or whatever it may be, if you are in the mining industry, whether you are the receptionist or CEO of a company, DIGGER is for you.

So you build your profile by sliding little sliders, industry or experience sliders, you just slide whatever you have and whatever experience you have and that is your digger profile. 

You can build and refine as you go through the app and engage with the app.

On the company side, you do the same you create your company profile, put the whole spiel together, we can create a company video for you and an area video that promotes your mine and area and attracts people to your operation. and while that is being done you can post positions and you post positions in exactly the same way you create your job profile.

Whatever you need you create in the same manner, and those two communicate to each other. It is prepopulated, it is standardized information, it’s not an algorithm trying to find key words in a CV and key words within a job spec that takes weeks to actually set up.

Mia Breytenbach:
Engelbrecht explains that once the job specification has been activated, only mining professionals with that particular skill set will be notified on the app.

He further stresses that this method eliminates the ‘Spray and Pray approach’ of conventional advertising and job boards.

Meanwhile, the candidate can look at additional information, such as the mine video or area video.

The candidate can also explore content around the mine, such as schools, housing and healthcare centres, or recreational facilities.

According to Engelbrecht, this provides the candidate with the power to make an informed decision, in a short time.

The candidate can then choose to pursue the opportunity by tapping on the DIG IT icon, or discard the notification.

Once the candidate DIGS the job spec, the mine can see the candidate’s profile.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht:
Once they can see your profile, you have your documents on there, your qualifications, ID, your proof of residence, everything can be saved on the app, so you don’t have to save on different folders on your PC anymore, it is on your app and the company can see whatever they want to see immediately.

Mia Breytenbach:
Interview dates can also be scheduled through the app.

This can be done by automatically booking them on the clients’ and candidates’ calendars, which will reflect immediately on the candidates mobile devices.

After the interview and having identified the successful candidate, Digger’s recruitment administration department will, on request from the client, provide references.

Identification, qualification and criminal verification checks of the candidate are completed through the app.

It can be done at the touch of a button.

Engelbrecht also highlights the main advantages of Digger.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht
From a candidate point of view, the advantage would be that this is an App that informs you of your process within your recruitment process, you get informed of when the interview would be, where it is, if you made it or not, if you haven’t been successful you will be let know, you are not going to sit in the dark as we normally do being recruited, if you don’t want to be recruited and just want to be informed of the mining information and engineering news globally, you can be on the app.

From a company point of view, it is massive cost saving, time saving and increase in productivity within your recruitment department. It is also a very streamlined and easy way to induct and onboard your people, once you have appointed them, and a tool to help you retain them in the future. 05:35

Mia Breytenbach:
Engelbrecht also stressed the instant gratification quality of the app, as candidates and clients can view the information in real time.

TrueVine Consulting has explained that it aims to create a niche platform for a global mining database, or global talent pool within the mining sector, as currently, recruitment databases in the sector are segmented and general.

According to Engelbrecht, the mining sector is ripe for disruption.

With the influx of technologies, such as automation and Big Data analytics, which are becoming increasingly available and being adopted in the mining industry, developments call for a shake-up in how recruitment is undertaken.

Engelbrecht therefore elaborates on how Digger can revolutionise recruitment in the mining industry.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht
At the moment, we are recruiting the way we have done for 50 60 how many years, it is an old school way of doing it, it works, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right? But everything is going digital, you can drive your truck from your cellphone, we have autonomous cars, you have autonomous mining in different sectors. People are adopting technology and it is growing like wildfire in the mining industry at the moment. We need a system to make your lives easier and to give you quality instead of quantities.

We want to give you less but the right people which you are looking for, not everybody, just the right ones. So, I think that will make a very big change.

Mia Breytenbach:
Digger is a consumer-free app, and will be freely accessible to candidates from the iStore or Google Play Store.

Mining companies can use the app through a subscription-based pricing model.

Engelbrecht adds that South African mines involved in various commodities sectors have expressed interest in the app.

Consequently, the app will be implemented at three diverse mining operations this year.

Markets in the UK, Australia, Canada and the rest of Africa have also indicated an interest in Digger.

Digger cofounder and TrueVine Consulting director Christo Engelbrecht
We want to create a global mining database, that every mine can tap into without paying recruitment fees.

It’s very exciting stuff, very exciting.

Sashnee Moodley:
That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.