The Mentoring Program for third and fourth year students from technical high schools in the O'Higgins region kicked off in its 2023-2024 version with the participation of 20 students from the Pedro Aguirre Cerda and Ernesto Pinto Lagarrigue high schools in Rancagua; the Polivalente high school in Machalí; and the Francisco Antonio Encina Armanet high school in Las Cabras.

The initiative, which will run until April next year, includes four sessions that began with a ceremony at the El Teniente stadium and a tour of the Integrated Operations Center, from where various processes at the copper company are remotely operated.

During each session, the students will be organized into groups and will be accompanied by 5 professional women from the Division who will guide and support them by showing them on-site how the processes of the El Teniente Mine, Plant and Smelter work.

This teaching-learning model is focused on activities that support knowledge in the central aspects of each of the stages of copper mining-metallurgical processes, as well as constant support from professionals.

“Mentors must share their experience with students so that they can see how to proceed along their path, this same career path, and in this way be able to gain more clarity regarding the training and studies they want to pursue,” said Carolina Marín, head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Teniente Division.

Promote female participation

The Mentoring program, run by the Regional Mining Secretariat of the O'Higgins region, is an initiative that the Ministry of Mining has been promoting since 2016 to encourage women's participation in the industry and which has had the support of Codelco El Teniente since its inception. On average, 20 students participate each year.

“It is very positive for the students because they go to the mine and learn about the operations, which is a satisfying experience because the students not only get to know these areas, but it also allows them to learn about mining on the ground and project themselves thinking about their professional future,” explained Ricardo Muñoz Romero, coordinator of the Mining Exploitation Specialty at the President Pedro Aguirre Cerda Bicentennial Industrial High School.

For Daniela Marín, head of the Planning Unit at the El Teniente Mine Maintenance Department, she had her first day as a mentor and explained that “The Division needs diversity today more than ever for all the transformation we have to do. So, to advance in diversity it is necessary to incorporate at a very early age, as in this case in technical high schools, women who are interested and who see that this world is not far away.”

“This journey has been wonderful and has helped me a lot to think about my future, because I like mining. All the professionals have been super kind, very friendly and it really is like an experience that has helped me to determine what I want in my future, what I want to study,” said Abril Soto, a third-year mining exploitation student at the President Pedro Aguirre Cerda Industrial High School.

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental pillars of Codelco's transformation and through a clear strategy and challenging goals in gender equality, El Teniente is seeking to advance female participation in all its operations and achieve as soon as possible that women occupy 15% of its workforce.