JSE-listed Omnia Group CEO Seelan Gobalsamy has sounded the alarm on a growing shortage of young professionals entering the mining and explosives sectors, stressing the need to make the industry more attractive to new talent.

Speaking at the 2025 BME Technical Summit, in Pretoria, on October 22, he noted that, while many in attendance had more than 15 years of experience, very few had joined the industry within the past year.

He illustrated the age and experience imbalance by asking delegates in attendance to indicate their time in the industry. Only a handful of attendees had joined within the past year, while the majority had more than 15 years of experience. This interaction highlighted the scarcity of young professionals entering the field.

"As you can see, it's a simple show of hands of how few youngsters we have, how few youth we have coming into this industry," he said.

The observation highlighted the critical challenge for the sector of bringing in young professionals with expertise in modern analytics, AI and autonomous solutions.

Gobalsamy emphasised the importance of engaging new talent in both Omnia’s agriculture and BME mining businesses.

"I think we've got an important role to play to make this industry, to make this sector, exciting for new people to join, for youngsters from university, from schools, from folk that want to link analytics, data, AI, autonomous ways of doing things into agriculture and mining," he said.

In addition to the talent shortage, Gobalsamy highlighted the role of innovation and technology in addressing industry challenges. He cited autonomous systems, precision data and other modern tools employed by Omnia and BME.

He also underscored environmental responsibility as part of Omnia’s overall operational framework.

"We focus on being precise, we focus on innovating, we focus on doing what is right for the environment and we thrive on science-backed research," he said.

Gobalsamy urged industry leaders to contribute to this kind of thought leadership and to make the sector more attractive for younger generations.

"I want to encourage all [industry stalwarts] to consider giving a little bit back and to consider how, from a thought leadership perspective and from a leadership perspective, we take this industry to where it needs to be – cleaner, greener, safer and underpinned by strong values," he said.

Gobalsamy also reflected on external pressures shaping the industry, including climate change and global volatility. He cited extreme weather events affecting employees and referenced changing international political environments, including policy shifts in the US, highlighting the need for agility and adaptive strategies.

However, Gobalsamy insisted that the power to improve the industry and the world at large lay in the hands of every individual, regardless of external factors. He encouraged industry players to take ownership of their role in shaping the future.

“Let's make the world a better place. Let's bring in young people into this sector and industry," he said.