Derisk Director and Principal Geologist, Mark Berry, attended the Consultants Society Forum, with the theme of “Consulting – A 360 Perspective”. The forum was held in Brisbane and hosted by the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Mark presented a talk titled “CONSULTANTS … So many … and so many models of how they are set up and run”. The presentation focused on the various models for how minerals industry consultants are established, together with a summary of the positives and negatives of each model.
Mark outlined how the minerals industry consulting field has grown exponentially in the last 30 years as the industry has evolved and tended to move away from a reliance on in-house technical expertise. Today, many consulting organisations tend to be arranged into one of four structures:
- Medium to large ‘mainstream’ consultancies that employ staff and cover several fields of practice that may include geological, geotechnical, mining, metallurgy, and environmental expertise.
- Small to medium ‘specialist’ consultancies that employ staff and predominantly focus on one field of practice.
- Small to medium consultancies that employ very few staff and rely on a network of associates to deliver one or more fields of practice.
- Sole traders
For someone wanting to transition into a consulting career, Mark also discussed the importance of understanding the pro’s and con’s of each structure to allow a well-informed judgement about which structure may be best. He also noted that as a consultant becomes more experienced, the best model may change.
There were nine presentations and two lengthy panel sessions across the day, covering many aspects of working in a consulting role. The panel sessions and breaks offered excellent opportunities for informative discussions and knowledge sharing.