Shortlist.net.au 3 September 2009 - Resources employers failing to create entry-level roles

Shortlist.net.au 3 September 2009
Resources employers failing to create entry-level roles: mining jobs expert

Jody Elliott, former BHP Recruitment Manager and founder of the Mineblogger website, says she hopes the government's new resources jobs taskforce will put pressure on employers to increase their hiring of entry-level candidates.

The National Resource Sector Employment Taskforce was announced this week by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who said it would help match the supply of resources workers to fast-growing industry demands, by working closely with resources employers, state governments and the university and training sector.

Rudd said an estimated 80 planned or approved resources projects nationwide would drive a likely 70% rise in demand for skilled labour in the sector over the next decade.

"If all these projects proceed there could be an additional 70,000 peak construction jobs, and 16,000 ongoing positions generated by 2020."

Elliott told Shortlist that a critical factor in the ongoing skills shortage in mining and resources was the industry's unwillingness to build up its pipelines through trainee and entry-level positions.

"There is a general level of frustration by many who have funded their own training to get their own tickets and qualifications, and then industry is not giving them an entry-level opportunity." From her own experience as a senior recruiter in the industry, she said,"I can see how difficult we did make it for people".

"When you're busy and you have all these other pressures, taking the time to train and mentor someone who hasn't worked in the industry before can seem like too hard a task."

Elliott said she hoped the resources sector would feel more pressure to hire and train candidates from a wider pool, because it was no longer feasible to continue recruiting only those with previous industry experience.

"We were just moving the same chairs around the deck, and at the same time increasing salaries, and that just won't be sustainable going forward."