Features

At Rio Tinto new graduate recruits attend a special forum where they are given a thorough grounding on the diversity of the Group and the wide array of opportunities available to further their careers.

New talent is essential to our business and Rio Tinto provides attractive career opportunities for outstanding graduates across many disciplines. However, the recent rapid growth in demand for skilled recruits, coupled with a reduced flow of qualified candidates from traditional mining schools, is making competition for human resources intense within the mining industry.

We employ more than 400 graduates around the world. In 2006, over 250 new graduate recruits joined the Rio Tinto Group. In 2006 we introduced a regional forum to the programme, which each graduate now attends in their first year. The inaugural forums were held in Perth and Brisbane in Australia, Richards Bay in South Africa, and Salt Lake City in the US.

Providing networking opportunities

The forum is essentially a four day workshop, which includes presentations by graduates on Rio Tinto product groups and a talk by the chief executive. Other topics covered are finance, health, safety, environmental and community issues, and career planning.

Graduates come to the forum from all regional business units, from all disciplines, making it a great opportunity to network to with colleagues. The people they meet form the basis of their ongoing peer network. Additionally, the forum provides opportunities to meet senior employees and find out more about their speciality field and professional journey. We encourage graduates to discuss the range of opportunities open to them and the paths that they could follow.