For those that still doubt the strength of the mining sector and are fearful of doing courses and not getting work, a report written by the Pit Crew Consulting Services (The Resources Sector Workforce Report – RSWR) has stated that the WA labour market may need an extra 40,000 resources workers over the next 2 years.
The forecast was created based on:- projects currently under construction / new projects reaching final investment decision and commencing construction / consistent need for shutdown work.
The skills shortage has come about due to the increase in work, covid 19 restrictions making it more difficult for FIFO workers so many of those workers choosing QLD as a preferred state to work in and a reduction of people relocating to WA.
Paul Everingham – The CEO of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia has indicated that the Pit Crew report was far worse than previously forecast.
He has commented “When we last released workforce modelling in August 2020, our sector had a positive outlook coming out of the worst of COVID-19 restrictions and we predicted then a need for an extra 8000 operational workers in the following 18 months – but this new research shows the situation is far more challenging than that. Unlike previous construction-led growth periods for our sector, where up to 1000 people a week were moving to WA for work, there are now strong employment prospects in the eastern states for people if they choose to stay at home,” he said.
What this means for Australian workers is a boost in employment for many areas of the resource sector including:-
Machinery Operators
Skilled Tradesmen
Labourers / Trade Assistants
Auxillary staff
So if you were looking at getting into mining but had doubts, this report indicates that there is still work for years to come in mining.