2331 WORKFORCE RENAISSANCE FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY: INTEGRATING CULTURAL DIAGNOSIS WITH ADAPTIVE LEARNING DESIGN IN A CHILEAN COPPER DIVISION *R. Pitronello Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile (*Presenting author: rpitronello@uai.cl) ABSTRACT Mining organizations increasingly face the dual challenge of implementing new technologies while preparing existing workforces for operational transitions. Yet human factor principles remain peripheral to Mining 4.0 implementation, and systematic approaches to workforce readiness are notably absent. This study addresses the integration gap between organizational change diagnosis and adaptive learning design by presenting empirical findings from a Chilean state-owned copper company’s division, where 60 fire refining workers are preparing for advanced rotary furnace (ARF) technology adoption following a recent smelter closure. A mixed-methods cultural diagnostic using a validated hierarchical productivity model revealed that workers operate at only 40.6% of their theoretical potential—a deficit rooted in attitudinal rather than aptitudinal factors. Three counterintuitive findings challenge conventional assumptions: age showed null correlation with change resistance (ρ=–0.089, p=0.506), labor reconversion status produced no significant differences in openness, and supervisors explained 15–20% of variance in change readiness—exceeding all demographic predictors. Qualitative analysis of 1,320 narratives through a game theory lens identified multiple Nash equilibria across work groups, explaining why uniform interventions historically failed. These diagnostic findings directly informed an adaptive learning system architecture featuring dual-track specialization, real-time competency assessment, supervisor-mediated interventions, and differentiated pathways aligned with four empirically-derived worker segments. The methodology operationalizes Standing’s underdeveloped “skill reproduction security” pillar within just transition frameworks, demonstrating how existing workers can develop competencies for technological transitions through systematic diagnosis preceding instructional design. KEYWORDS Adaptive learning, workforce transition, Mining 4.0, organizational change, cultural diagnosis, skill reproduction security 1. CONTEXT AND PROBLEM STATEMENT Delivering the minerals the world urgently needs—faster, smarter, and more responsibly—requires not only technological innovation but systematic workforce preparation for the humans who will operate new systems. Yet recent scoping reviews reveal a critical disconnect: despite decades of automation deployment in mining, human factor principles in technology design and evaluation have not become common practice, unlike aviation or healthcare where such integration is standard (Codoceo-Contreras et al., 2024; Lund et al., 2024). Mining 4.0 literature emphasizes technological capabilities while leaving “not much knowledge on how to develop the skills of the workforce that mining companies already have” (Lund et al., 2024). At the operational level, skills development remains “haphazard and unstructured” (Chirgwin, 2021), with control room operators acquiring knowledge “piece by piece in hands-on training from more experienced operators”—a process identified as “a key bottleneck for enhancing human capacity” in mineral processing (Li et al., 2011). The studied division of a major Chilean state-owned copper company exemplifies these challenges
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