This report identifies training as an essential ingredient across all sectors and industry in Australia
Here in Australia the resources sector has gone through the wringer, where we experienced the incredible highs of the mining boom, where ordinary blokes walked up to a mine site and instantly started raking in six figure salaries. On the other side of the coin, a few years later and we’re sitting on the bones of our backside, as the reality that everything has changed has hit like a freight train.
Askills vortex
‘streuth – as a nation, we were in trouble’
With the government backing universities to put the word out that if you left school and did not eventually end up with a degree, then your future was pretty well planned out. It was obvious (to them anyway) that you would flounder with millions of others as your counterparts who went to uni enjoyed the spoils of preferential treatment and favoritism when it came to jobs.
The 2015 Environmental Scan
This new report takes a look at the current and future skilling needs for the Australian mining, oil and gas sector, as seen through the eyes of the industry`s national skills council.
According to SkillsDMC`s 2015 Environmental Scan, the quarrying industry produced an estimated 178 million tonnes of construction materials in 2013″�14, an increase of 4.3 per cent compared to 2012. The report said that over the past 10 years, overall quarrying of�construction material had grown 36 per cent due to an increase in construction activity.
‘residential and non-residential building expecting to throttle back’
The outlook for quarry production is for a little bit of a downward trend from 2017″�18 as Australian construction heads into a sticky patch with residential and non-residential building expecting to throttle back.
Owing to a slow investment in the sector, new quarry development could be hampered.
The report was slightly more positive in its forecast for the quarrying industry`s employment levels, which it stated had been “� and were likely to continue to be “� “quite stable”�, with an increase anticipated later in the decade ahead of a new round of construction activity.
Australian mining & construction outlook
For the bigger resources and infrastructure sector, the report hinted at a new frontier with mining and civil construction activity slowing in the next few years. Mining production and output will rise considerably over the next five years.
“looking to its existing workers to upskill and cross-skill”
With this capacity increase in mind, the resources sector will be looking to its existing workers to upskill and cross-skill as the traditional job roles morph into new ones.
The report also made a good point about a demographic change happening within the existing workforce, which could lead to ‘skills gaps’ appearing. Once again, there would be a necessity to plug these gaps with new recruits in order to meet the demands of a developing nation and industry requirements.
This report is a brilliant resource for those who are currently employed in the mining and resource sector.
The Environmental Scan report – download it now!
Contracted by the Federal Government, SkillsDMC have produced this annual Environmental Scan report to analyse the changes in the global economic climate and to interpret how they impact upon the Australian skills availability pool.
The Environmental Scan report has some good information in it as it current and future skilling needs, as well as on challenges and opportunities for the quarrying, coal mining, metalliferous mining, drilling and civil infrastructure industries.
‘cold, hard facts about the Australian metaliferous mining sector’
There are sections on the coal mining sector, information on major coal projects in Australia and cold, hard facts about the metaliferous mining sector also. You’ll read about what projects are to be developed in the future and where to find the jobs. Drilling and exploration are also highlighted as well as an in-depth look into the quarrying sector and how the construction marker will drive success or level out activity in the coming year.
‘concrete ideas on how to be employed in the sector’
For those people in the Australian construction industry, the report contains some concrete ideas on how to be employed in the sector and where to lay the foundations for further training and career development.
Further training is essential in an industry where competition for jobs is fierce; and with a heightened focus on safety, those people who err on the side of WH&S skills will be in high demand.
With over 80 pages of good information on Australian mining & construction, you’d be crazy not to read it. Get the Environmental Scan report today!
