VIC

When China was first touted as the anticipated future superpower some ten years ago by a handful of Australian resource company executives, many couldn’t see past the strong trade reliance with the US. Cut to 2011, and Australia's economic ties with the US are night and day from those with China.

Having just acquired Equinox Minerals in the largest Australian merger and acquisition transaction to date in 2011, Barrick has expanded its global operating sites to 26.

The acquisition of Equinox adds two additional copper assets to the Australian Pacific Region. With seven operating gold mines in Australia and the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea, the Equinox sites expand the Australian Pacific Regional Business Unit area of operations from Western Australia, New South Wales and Papua New Guinea to Zambia and Saudi Arabia.

With 61,500 new operational jobs expected in the Australian mining sector by 2015, as well as tens of thousands more in the construction stages, the industry is facing a skills shortage that far exceeds that experienced in the boom period of 2003 to 2008.

The Atwood Falcon was awarded “Floater Rig of the Year” 2011 by Shell in recognition for excellence in Safety and operational performance and from May 2012. The Rig joins the Atwood Eagle and the Atwood Osprey as our 3rd operating Rig in Australian waters. 

We hear this complaint regularly from job seekers.  The job search process can be a time consuming, often frustrating and at times, soul destroying process, particularly for those seeking a start in the industry. 

Let us share the common mistakes we still see people making:

This week,John Holland announced it had secured a key contract with Bechtel Australia Pty Ltd to design and construct the accommodation village for Chevron’s Wheatstone gas project near Onslow on Western Australia’s Pilbara coast.

With a contract value of approximately $370 million, the 3,800-bed village is one of the first major contracts to be awarded for Wheatstone. Work on the village will begin immediately and is due for completion in the second quarter of 2014.

Employment in the resources industry often occurs indirectly through sub contractors to the larger mining companies, particularly when it involves an expansion or new project.

We've launched a range of new services that will further assist those looking to learn more about work opportunities in the country’s mining and petroleum sectors.

New functionality on Theresourcechannel.com.au website will allow visitors to find industry-specific training, conference and events information.  In addition, subscribers to the site will be able to nominate to follow specific companies on the site.  This means that whenever the nominated organisation posts updated employment news, the subscriber is immediately notified. 

With so many online social networking sites available at our finger tips, it’s not hard to fall into the trap of networking only through your keyboard.

It’s also often difficult to expand one’s network, or even foster the current one when life is busy and it doesn’t seem such a priority......until, of course, you find yourself unemployed, or seeking that next career move, or just generally needing advice or information.

The economic stimulus created by the Ichthys LNG Project will result in an expansion of the Australian and Northern Territory economies, and greater opportunities for business and employment.

INPEX General Manager External Affairs and Joint Venture Bill Townsend said INPEX is working closely with the Northern Territory business community in particular to raise awareness about the prequalification process.

“We want to make sure as many local companies as possible are eligible to win contracts,” Mr Townsend said.