Despite positions in Western Australia’s mining industry offering salaries of up to $190,000 a year, thousands of positions are still vacant. The number of mining jobs on online job seeking platform Seek has increased by a huge 32 per cent in the past year, totalling upwards of 1,000 positions that are simply not filled.
What kinds of positions are available?
It isn’t simply jobs that require extensive industry experience or qualifications being left unfilled. Workers only require appropriate certifications and three years trade experience to fulfil positions such as heavy-duty diesel fitters and mechanics, with shutdown jobs including electricians and supervisors, mechanical supervisors, scaffold supervisors, mechanical fitters, boilermakers, labourers and trade assistants.
Workers looking to work out of Perth can find positions for general laborers, boilermakers, crane operators and riggers and dump truck and dozer operators. There are also opportunities for those available for rosters based on a ‘fly in fly out’ schedule in remote areas, some of these roles offering up to $50 an hour.
What this means for applicants
Paul Everingham, the CEO of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, describes employers as being desperate to hire anyone skilled to do the job. This has resulted in jobs ordinarily being filled by Australians instead increasingly going to qualified migrants instead.
With Kalgoorlie being one of the centres of the mining job shortage, Kalgoorlie Mayor John Bowler firmly believes the job shortage plaguing the mining sector is a ‘crisis’, going so far as to compelling the federal government to fill roles with skilled migrants.
‘There’s a lot of businesses out there that say they would employ a lot more people if they could get them,’ Mr Bowler said, further demonstrating the desperation facing the industry.
What this means for you
The worker shortages faced by the mining industry makes for an excellent opportunity for skilled workers to gain work. If you have experience in a trade from working overseas, Skills Certified can help you convert your experience into an Australian recognised qualification, which in turn can land you a role in the mining industry.
This is achieved through Recognition of Prior Learning, or RPL. With the simple Skills Certified 60 second skills check, you’ll be able to see whether you can use your past industry experience to gain a qualification – all without the need to potentially study further! To learn more, get in touch with our friendly team today.
