Over the next decade the mining industry will explode with career opportunities for qualified prospective employees. Areas of Western Australia will double job vacancies over the next several decades making it necessary to hire adequate numbers of individuals to fill jobs. Areas within the Pilbara region, of Western Australia, are especially known for this opportunity. So high is the need for quality employees, in this particular region of Western Australia, an actual job shortage exists.
The demand for minerals like iron ore is highest in China. Fueling the need for iron ore in a massive country, of China’s size, requires a large number of qualified employees in the mining industry. Pilbara region holds the majority if jobs extracting iron ore from the largest supply of the natural resource in the world.
In addition to the Western Australia Pilbara region, the southern part of Western Australia will soon boom with gold mining activity. Historically, areas like Kalgoorlie’s super pit mine, the largest gold mine in the world, have dominated supplying the demand for gold to its two biggest customers “Italy and India.” Kalgoorlie is located east of Perth. Soon Boddington gold mine, also in Western Australia, will surpass gold production in Kalgoorlie. This particular mine is scheduled to open in 2009. Like other gold mines, Boddington produces the valuable mineral for jewelry, adorning buildings, and in technology sectors.
To continue at this rate of expansion, a large number of qualified employees are needed. Qualified employees are hired from individuals of Australian citizenship, as well as foreign citizens with the correct documentation. Typically employees working in regions of Western Australia are working on fly in fly out rosters, requiring many consecutive days to several weeks of duty prior to flying out and taking several days of rest and relaxation. Employment at the site of a mine is no longer the stereotypical camp with modern facilities for a comfortable lifestyle. Taking this type of work arrangement has its benefits, including pay superior to most sectors of employment in the world and added perks for fly in like frequent flyer miles. Employees can also spend periods of time off of work pursuing personal interests and obtaining perks like frequent flyer miles when flying in and flying out of remote mining areas.
In all areas of mining, qualified professionals are required to take on the massive operations surrounding round the clock activity taking place 24 hours per day 7 days per week, each calendar year. Entry into the mining industry can be accomplished through apprenticeships which give employees hands on training, as well as a paycheck, in various trades. A solid educational background, in many areas of science or technical fields, like geology or engineering, is also a means of entry into the mining industry. Employees without a background or particular trade or educational background can start out, in the mining industry, in areas of Western Australia, to obtain experience as kitchen help, a surveyor’s assistant, drillers offsider, sample preparer, geologist’s assistants, or any number of positions.