In a context of expansion of mining activity in Salta, the availability of qualified human capital is consolidating as a critical variable for the execution and scaling of operations. The need for trained technicians in maintenance, processes, logistics, and new technologies poses a structural challenge for the education system. In this regard, Morello details how, from UPATECO, the province is advancing in flexible training schemes, with territorial anchoring and direct linkage with the productive sector, seeking to reduce the gap between training and the real demand of the mining industry.
By Panorama Minero
How do you define UPATECO’s role today in the province’s mining productive ecosystem?
It fulfills a fundamental strategic role; mining development will become strong in the next 5–10 years, and we need the workers to be from the province. In this sense, UPATECO was created in 2022 from an idea of Governor Gustavo Sáenz to train talent; we have five strategic areas, and of course mining plays an important role.
Is the expansion of mining in Salta generating a structural transformation in the demand for labor profiles?
Absolutely, we are increasingly refining the educational strategy with the sector, and for that we need to be on the ground, visiting projects and meeting with companies.
We coordinate permanently with the private sector, and from those meetings the academic offering we develop emerges. We have had very important success cases working together with Ganfeng Lithium in General Güemes, training the specific workers they needed, and that allowed local young people to join as argon welders.
The development of our programs is based on understanding and knowing the professional profiles that companies require.
What gaps do you identify between available training and the real needs of the mining industry?
There is a significant gap. In the recent visit we made to the Mariana project (Ganfeng Lithium), we saw the entire production cycle step by step, and at each stage company authorities told us about the need for professionals and how they have been addressing it through continuous training. That is what we at UPATECO want to solve for the entire mining production chain, not only lithium, because many professionals are needed for the development of all the resources the province has.
What programs or trades related to mining is UPATECO currently developing?
We are currently delivering the final year of the Mining Trades Technical Program; Occupational Health and Safety for mining; and Mining Transport and Logistics. For 2026 we have added technical programs in Mineral Processing; Geochemical Laboratory Applied to Mining; Mining applied to Sampling Techniques and Assurance; and Surveying.
All these programs have emerged from meetings with the private sector.
We also have technical programs in Digital Systematization and Robotics, which are functional to mining and correspond to the profiles that will be in demand. And technical trade-related profiles, which we address according to the immediate needs of companies through short training cycles.
Are there agreements for internships or direct job placement?
We have agreements with companies for joint training and to develop professional internships; there is willingness from companies, and they express the need for students in their final years to become familiar with projects and the work they will perform.
What does it mean today to train talent for a province seeking to consolidate itself as a mining player?
It is a great challenge, but we see a positive outlook with real expectations that our province can move forward—and that it does so with people from Salta included. For that, mining must be supplied with workers trained in the province and in the area of influence in the Puna. It is a major challenge, but together with the Governor we see it as a possible horizon, because it generates social mobility and productive development for our province.
