MPG’s director delivers lectures to educate next generation of mineral planner

Last year, MPG partnered with The Institute of Quarrying (IQ) to help reshape and update its training course for mineral planners. In a bid to help futureproof the sector, the course is aimed at upskilling quarry managers and estate teams, as well as those involved in resource planning. 

Although planning for the course came to a standstill back in 2020, MPG’s director, Chris Heffernan, has had a hand in helping IQ to refresh the course material as well as ensuring it is in line with current industry practices and standards. 

On 22nd and 23rd March, Chris attended Cliffe Hill Quarry with the team from Midland Quarry Products to teach his first lectures to IQ’s 2022 cohort and provide a practical perspective on the current issues facing the mineral planning industry.  

The two lectures were the first of many in-person sessions with IQ’s students, with the next sessions due to take place with IQ’s next cohort in the summer. Chris commented on his first teaching session:  “Our industry is currently facing a shortage of mineral and waste planners, so it’s vital these courses exist. It was rewarding to see so many students engaged in the new-look programme.

It was an enormous honour to teach the students for two days, their diverse backgrounds made the lectures a joy to run and there was plenty of interaction between students — and the workshops made it obvious that they had a solid understanding of mineral planning.

It is fantastic to see that there is a pool of talent who want to advance their mineral planning knowledge and this course sets them off on a clear path with a mixture of both theoretical and practical concepts.”

Andew Norton, who is currently studying on the course, gave some valuable feedback on the session: “Chris is very knowledgeable and I think the course is great. It’s clear that there is a need for more of these types of courses, as people from all over the UK attend the session.”

Chris will be delivering his next lecture to IQ’s next intake of students towards the end of 2023. 
Full course content and costings details can be found here.