Australia’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry set for game changing growth

You would have had to have been asleep 24/7 to have missed the loud fanfare announcing the energy giant Chevron’s ‘Gorgon Project’, and the anticipated creation of thousands of new jobs for Australia.

An interesting bit of information on the side - the name ‘Gorgon’ is from Greek mythology and represents a terrifying female creature(s) that had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a horrifying gaze that turned those who beheld it to stone. The trick is to look past it.

Gorgon alone will create something in the order of:

• 3,500 direct jobs during construction;
• 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for suppliers and contractor service industries at the peak of production;
• 300 direct and ongoing jobs on Barrow Island going into the operational phase.

And that is just Gorgon. There are also many other major resource projects, both in oil and gas and mining, planned across Australia.

55,000 NEW JOBS?

Understandably many Australians are wondering how they can share in this apparent job bonanza. The prospect of up to 55,000 new jobs associated with oil and gas projects over the next decade is indeed heartening news for many people, particularly those who have been directly affected by the global financial crisis, but also for many young people just starting out.

It is hardly surprising that peoples’ expectations grow very high when they hear constant stories about the millions of dollars worth of contracts anticipated from the resource projects. These expectations are often fuelled by media hype and, frankly some urban myths, about the high wages to be had for the taking. All too often though, job seekers end up very disappointed and confused.

There will be opportunities to be had, but there is the inevitable ‘but’ - many job seekers will not walk immediately into a job in the oil and gas industry getting paid the high wages you hear about on the streets.

The problem is that many great job seekers get lost in the process mainly because they have not understood some basic elements about the jobs associated with the big oil and gas projects. This loss is not good for the job seeker and not good for the industry. Job seekers need access to and help understanding basic information about employment; and industry needs to be very clear about what it is looking for and communicate that to the job market.

HOW CAN The Resource Channel HELP?

It is for this reason that I am so excited about The Resource Channel. I believe this new interactive job portal and resource industry website is a timely, brilliant and much needed initiative. The Resource Channel provides job seekers and employers with a unique and easy-to-access forum to connect. It is an initiative of a number of highly experienced resource industry professionals, and it is that industry experience that makes The Resource Channel credible, informative and accurate. APPEA, as the peak industry representative body for the Australian oil and gas sector, is proud to support the website and will actively provide job information to assist the job seeker – at all levels – and regularly contribute to The Blog.