Working Environment and Employment Conditions and their Impact on Skills Shortage in South African Gold Mines

The purpose of the study was to examine the direct relationship and effect of human resource management practices (working environment and employment conditions) on perceived skills shortage among engineers, professionals, and supervisors in the South African gold mines. A sample of 300 engineers, professionals and supervisors was selected by purposive sampling from three selected South African gold mines. For the analysis of the data collected through a self-administered questionnaire, correlation and multiple regression were conducted using Social Package for Social Sciences, version 25. The study revealed that the working environment and employment conditions had a positive significant relationship with the perceived skills shortage in the gold mines. Considering the regression coefficients of two predictors, working environment exerted a greater impact on perceived skills shortage than employment conditions. The benefits of providing an attractive employment condition and supportive working environment create incentives for job satisfaction, employee’s intention to stay and talent retention. The study contributes to the growing research of skills shortage by conducting empirical tests consisting of three variables (perceived skills shortage, working environment, and employment conditions) in the gold mining context.