The Gold Industry Group has released their 2021 Impact Report, reflecting on a successful year of changing community perceptions, and inspiring the gold industry’s future talent pipeline.
As the Gold Industry Group heads into its seventh year of operation, its role in connecting Australians to the nation’s gold industry continues to expand.
Gold Industry Group Chair Kelly Carter said she was particularly proud of the growth and impact of the Group’s signature programs, which are strengthening the industry’s reputation and providing valuable support to the wider community.
“It is fantastic to see our initiatives continue to develop and go from strength to strength, attracting significant interest, driving positive engagement, changing perceptions and inspiring our future workforce,” Ms Carter said.
In 2021, the National Gold Education Program increased its reach by 126%, educating 678 schools and tens of thousands of students across Australia, with satisfaction ratings between 90-100%. The Program provides primary and secondary teachers with free, interactive gold incursions delivered by passionate workers in the gold industry, and an informative array of educational gold resources, including free rock kits.
The Gold Jobs website, a one-stop-shop of gold jobs and career-related information, increased its reach by 148% in 2021, engaging 87K+ users and driving positive engagement and awareness.
The Heart of Gold Australia app, which features more than 30 fun and interactive in-app, self-guided or guided gold activities from around the country, was transferred to a new platform with enhanced features and reached 4,800+ people.
Ms Carter said the Group’s ongoing partnerships were directly benefiting Australians while successfully strengthening the visibility and profile of the gold industry.
“We are proud of our community partnerships that members actively support and communities strongly engage with,” Ms Carter said.
The Group is proud to support the growth of the Shooting Stars education program, which expanded from eight to 15 sites in 2021, empowering 1000+ Indigenous girls in WA and SA to make informed choices about their education and employment journey.
The Group also built upon its connection with the 280k+ strong West Coast Fever and Netball WA community through its long-term partnership, with research demonstrating success in increasing awareness of, support for, and interest in, the gold sector.
A partnership with Resources Technology Showcase reached 400 schools and more than 8000 students and teachers through The West Australian event and Education Media campaign showcasing the gold sector. The Group also enabled the successful integration of Australian Earth Science Education into NSW to support students and teachers in year 11 and 12 while integrating gold curriculum linked resources and incursions reaching 1,500+ students and 550+ teachers.
2021 also saw the launch of the Gold Industry Group LIVINWell School Tour with LIVIN, which will see much needed mental health sessions delivered at secondary schools across Australia in 2022.
The GIG supported more than 35 community and industry events and held six of its own in 2021 including the return of its popular Great Diversity Debate.
The GIG’s media footprint also expanded considerably to reach more than 61 million through its content generation, digital campaigns, and media visibility, demonstrating the positive engagement and connection with community.
Following the growth of 2021, the Gold Industry Group’s activities continue to flourish in 2022 as more Australians connect to our gold industry.