During Covid, upskilling became a buzzword with people across nearly all professions taking up career development courses. Rest assured, employees were not the only ones that reaped its rewards. Employers, too, got the chance to have an upgraded workforce at a lower cost. 

In the same spirit, global training and human resources software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Schrole Group (ASX: SCL) has received an order from mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) for on-the-job training programs, especially for its on-the-go workers, in Western Australia for approximately $330,000. 

Australia’s mining industry has boomed in the past five years, valued at over $500 billion. The competition has increased, too. With the fast pace of change, companies need to stay ahead of the curve. An efficient way to do so is to offer jobs with on-ground training.

Rio Tinto, Managing Director, Rob Graham, said, “To ensure local operations maintain industry best practice, operators need to regularly train teams as efficiently as possible. The training relationship we have with Rio Tinto allows us to help create and roll out the most appropriate modules efficiently to staff who are often FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) or in transit to remote sites.”

In a FIFO situation, there is very little time to acquaint employees with what lies ahead. In such a scenario, it’s best to let them learn as they go. With the Company’s professional development arm, Schrole Develop, it will provide 25 courses to about 200 staff across Rio Tinto’s facilities in Western Australia. 

This is an increase in course delivery of 27% compared to the equivalent training provided in the prior corresponding period. The order is expected to be invoiced in the March FY23 quarter. 

Schrole and Rio Tinto have been in partnership since 2007, with Schrole delivering contextualised courses for Rio Tinto both domestically and globally. Schrole Develop delivers training programs for other Australian mining companies, too, including BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG). 

Graham added, “Schrole’s relationship with Rio Tinto continues to grow, as we know the business well and continue to refine training to meet their evolving needs.”

Schrole is a Software-as-a-Service provider with its foot in multiple doors. Besides Schrole Develop, it has other ventures, such as Schrole Connect (a recruitment app) and Schrole Engage (onboarding software). It is an end-to-end solution fulfilling companies’ HR needs, largely in the education sector.

In October 2022, Rio Tinto employed Schrole to assess the capabilities in the Republic of Guinea of some local universities and vocational education schools to support Rio Tinto’s Simandou iron ore project. Moreover, previously, Schrole Develop has worked with Rio Tinto in Mongolia to upskill over 2,000 vocational teachers to Aussie standards.

The new contract furthers the atmosphere of mutual trust between the two companies while also highlighting the need for skilled labour in the mining industry. Since departing from its sales distribution partner ISS (International Schools Services), the Company’s net operating cash outflow in the September quarter reduced to $300k, a 58% reduction on Q3 FY21.

With partnerships like such, Schrole expects its cash flows to break even and perhaps even tip over to the positive side, soon.