Australasian Mine Safety is the leading voice for all key decision makers within Mining company's and major contractors. Delivering the latest industry news as it breaks.
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NEWS ATIONAL NEWS Digging for skilled workers Mining boom mach II promises the second, and many argue greater, ‘golden age of Australian mining’, and so the hunt for skilled workers remains a critical focus of industry and government, writes Jarrod Fitch. In 2010 The National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce reported that for the five years to 2015 the mineral sector’s operational workforce is expecting a 4.9 per cent growth rate, resulting in the creation of 61,500 new jobs, in addition to the existing 194,000 jobs that currently directly exist in the sector. The expected growth has long foreshadowed the need for new skilled employees as the mining sector appeals to state and federal governments for bolder skills training programs and skilled migration policies, including increasing temporary working visas as are currently used in high frequency in the mining sector. The Federal Government’s 2011 Budget had skills issues at the forefront, including packages for Australian workers such as $558 million for the Workforce Development Fund, with $200 million to support apprenticeships, as well as the creation of 16,000 skilled migration places. Minerals Council of Australia, Chairman Peter Johnson, welcomed the Federal Government’s 2011-12 Budget attention to the skills issue. “On skills, the industry welcomed the budget’s focus on skills and training. New initiatives to improve education and training systems, boost workforce participation and facilitate skilled migration should help ease the skills shortages,” Johnson told guests at Mineral Council of Australia’s Minerals Week seminar in June. Regional Director of Hays Resources & Mining, Simon Winfield, said the company is expecting a rush of recruitment opportunities in the sector. “The shortage of appropriate skills is a huge challenge; most, if not all, employers have hinted that they will be recruiting in the next few months and given the larger investment of this boom we expect the skills shortage to reach a height never before seen,” he said. Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive, Michael Roche, said that while he acknowledged positive steps have been made on the skills shortages front, he remains unconvinced about the Federal Government’s imminent price on carbon. “What Treasurer Swan refers to as ‘Mining Boom Mark II’ will only disappoint if a price on carbon makes Queensland’s minerals and energy industries uncompetitive globally,” Roche said. Private sector skills case study Coal mining services contracting business, Mastermyne, in June announced a $3 million training facility to train ‘cleanskins’ (employees with no previous experience in mining), a project fully funded by the company. The training centre replicates the underground workings of a coal mine and includes actual- sized tunnels, operating conveyors and the equipment used underground. The International recruiting company Randstand is working with Mastermine in recruiting skilled international mine workers from its countries of operations in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, UK and others. Zena Clark, General Manager of Randstad CPE, told Australasian Mine Safety Journal that the program is on target to recruit 300 skilled workers. “We put together an innovative approach to fighting ‘the war on talent’, the idea is that we would be fishing in the ocean, rather than just a pond,” she said. As a working destination, Clark says that Australia is not the most difficult sell to potential workers. “Being realistic is one part, but [we] also sell the dream – talking about some of the money they can earn and they kind of lifestyle they can have in Australia.” Clark says that while the federal government has made in-roads into skilled migration, long-term investment is required to meet labour demands. “The government needs to make it as easy as possible for employers to sponsor overseas workers who are experienced in the sector… And they need to listen to the industry for specific skill sectors. Is it white collar, is it blue collar, or is it both?” CFMEU calls Rio bluffing on safety Construction Forestry and Energy Union Northern District Vice President, Robin Williams, attacked Rio Tinto’s safety credentials at the union’s general meeting in Perth. Williams said that Rio failed to include many incidents in its 2010 annual report arguing, “They should listen to the workers and have a culture of open reporting.” “If there is an accident or incident at a mine site, we want a proper investigation to make sure that it doesn’t happen again, not a scapegoat who is disciplined for their actions,’’ Williams said. Williams says that Rio is misleading shareholders with their “goal of zero harm.” A spokesman for Rio’s subsidiary Coal & Allied told The Necastle Herald that the company has significantly improved its safety record in recent years. 4 AUSTRALASIAN MINE SAFETY JOURNAL