Recalibrating Education !

Mining is likely to be the growth industry in Australia and a report by the Australian Resources and Energy Group  (AMMA ) predicts that mining will require 20,767 more skilled workers in the next five years.   The public perception of a " mine worker " seems to be that of a male, clad in boots, shorts and a hard hat, equipped with a pick and shovel.  In other words - a " labourer " !

AMMA has broken down those job requirements into specific sectors. By 2024 the mining industry will be needing 8660 plant operators,  2847 heavy diesel fitters, 4110 supervisors and other white collar roles, 4180 engineers, technicians, geologists and related roles and 970 other assorted trades such as electricians, mechanical and maintenance workers.

It is expected that there will be a dire shortage of people with the necessary skills and as a consequence employers will be forced to offer high salaries to fill vacancies.  If these job positions can not be filled with Australian workers there will be pressure for migrant quotas to be relaxed to gain these skills.

One of the things that is absolutely certain is that most of these jobs will involve travel to mine sites outside of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.  Some of these jobs will involve settling in a town adjacent to a mine but others will be on what is called a " FIFO " basis.   Workers fly in for a continuous shift of several days and then fly out to their home base for a similar period of leave. That is fast becoming the preferred method of staffing the mining industry.

There is now little work available in the mining industry for the unskilled.  Knowing what jobs are coming online is valuable knowledge for those leaving school and making career choices.  It delivers the choice to think ahead and get the right training to access those well paying and highly skilled jobs that are the future for many Australian workers.

This is also a challenge for the Australian education system.  In the past it was the custom for mechanical skills to be learned through the apprenticeship system but many employers no longer offer this avenue of advancement.  It used to be complimented by the TAFE system which was designed to teach mechanical skills independently to a level where students were attractive to employers.  TAFE has long been in sharp decline.

 Knowing the type of work that will be offering in the near future is a challenge to the people who plan our education system.   If what we are offering does not meet the needs of the future then we are failing our young people.  Education is about learning skills.  It would make sense to direct those skills towards the jobs that will be readily available in the future.