Theresa Nyabeze from Vale and Esa Melantie from Bestech take the podium as co-chairs of the inaugural MECA Symposium which was held in Sudbury Ont. at both Science North (pictured) and Dynamic Earth (at the Big Nickel site). Courtesy of Yijing Sun, CIM Sudbury Branch

At the inaugural Mining Engagement Conference for Advancement Symposium (MECA) there was one message that came through loudly and consistently: there’s nothing soft about soft-skills.  

The event, which was held in Sudbury from October 9 to 11, offered keynotes, plenary sessions and workshops all aimed at getting the 130 attendees more familiar with the concepts of engaging with people, being more aware of how people react to others and to their environments and changing the way interactions happen at work. In particular, the focus was on getting mining executives, supervisors and managers to become the kinds of leaders that encourage mentally and emotionally healthy and respectful workplaces.