In an address to the Australian Mines and Metals Association`s Migration and Labour Sourcing Conference, Migration Minister Chris Bowen, said Australia is experiencing the largest mining boom on record. There are currently 98 major mining projects at an advanced stage of development, representing proposed capital expenditure of over $260 billion. And there is a further $243�billion in capital expenditure in the pipeline for less advanced projects. This means a lot of mining jobs will be created� (287,000 mining jobs) .
The profile of investment means that we’re seeing significant amounts of project construction all coming online around the same time, creating up to 287,000 new construction jobs through to 2018. That’s over 28 per cent of Australia’s current construction workforce.
89,000 new permanent jobs by 2016
Skilling more Australians, improving domestic labour mobility, overcoming barriers such as conflicting trade licensing arrangements and immigration can all play an important role in ensuring skills shortages don’t stand in the way of economic growth in the mining sector and that Australians benefits from the permanent mine jobs that flow from these projects. Job� growth from the mining and resource sector investment is huge, with more than 89,000 new jobs expected to be created to 2016 in non-oil and gas operations alone.
Government investing $15.6 billion in training
The Australian government’s number one focus is for Australians to benefit from developments in the resources sector and to create mining jobs for those people who wish to work in the sector and have the right qualifications and experience. There’s an enormous effort underway to up-skill and train Australians (mining job ready programs), with $15.6 billion in skills and training over the next four years to make this happen.
However, these developments need to be complemented by a skilled migration program – both permanent and temporary – to ensure that workforce shortages don’t threaten economic growth and jobs creation, especially in the mining sector.
Many projects are being stalled because of the lack of skilled migrants, also the number of 457 visas (90,000 – mostly WA), have risen 77% in the last 12 months in the mining sector to 6,500, construction 457s are up 55% to 9200.
Enterprise Migration Agreements (EMAs) essentially allow the government and project developers to negotiate one labour agreement – or Deed of Agreement to cover a project. Subcontractors who want to avail themselves of the agreement enter into a direct contract with the government that mirrors the overarching deed.
Any company seeking an EMA must first show that they are faced with genuine skills shortages (lack of qualified people to fill mining jobs vacancies) and provide exacting detail on how these skills shortages negatively impact or hamper their mining project.
The 457 visa program and the other steps are well-targeted and responsive measures to help meet Australia’s economic needs while continuing to ensure opportunities aren’t lost for Australian workers, especially in the mining and resource sector.
Mining jobs boost “� 287,000 new mining construction jobs forecast to 2018
iMINCO Mining Information
