Perfect storm brewing
MINE bosses fear a skills shortage could stifle the resources sector projected to undergo more growth.
The Queensland Resources Council’s State of the Sector report identified mining executives’ biggest concern was the skilled workers shortage brought on by Covid-related border restrictions and increased interstate competition.
Combined with an overall less skilled migration, QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said it was creating a perfect storm of labour shortages during the resources sector’s continued growth.
Mr Macfarlane said mining leaders had become increasingly concerned over the past 12 months about attracting and retaining enough skilled employees to support industry growth, with the issue jumping from number 12 on the list to number one in the latest CEO sentiment survey.
“The number of jobs in our sector in Queensland has increased by more than two-thirds over the past five years to reach a record high of almost 85,000 earlier this year,” he said.
“This growth in resources jobs, which has surged since Covid, is around six times the relative growth experienced across the rest of Queensland’s workforce over the same five-year period.
“Looking forward, jobs growth over the next five years is likely to continue due to increasing global demand for traditional resources like coal, base metals and gas plus the growing demand for new economy minerals such as cobalt, graphite, vanadium and rare earths which are being used to build everything from microchips to electric vehicles.
“This demand will create a growing and increasingly diverse pipeline of jobs for Queenslanders, with the National Skills Commission projecting employment in our sector will grow by a further 8 per cent to 2025.”
The latest SEEK employment data indicates there are more than 1300 resources jobs on offer in Queensland,
with more than 70 per cent paying upwards of $100,000 a year.
The Minerals Council of Australia’s latest Commodity Demand Outlook 2030 report forecast an increased demand for key Queensland commodities to 2030, supported by Queensland Treasury’s most recent forward estimates that showed coal export volumes were predicted to rise by 23 per cent to 2024-25.
“Treasury is also anticipating a broadening of the resources sector due to increasing demand for Queensland’s critical minerals and rare earths used in the production of emerging technologies,” Mr Macfarlane said.
Companies’ social licence to operate was the second highest concern for mining executives, followed by dealing with government regulation.
He said the state government’s 30year Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan, in the planning phase, would be vital to identifying opportunities for growth in a thriving sector. “Industry is looking forward to providing feedback on a draft of the plan in the coming weeks and months,” he said.
Other key findings in the State of the Sector report included more than 70 per cent of mining executives expected some of the in-demand skills at their operations to change, and 80 per cent said Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths graduates would increase over the next five years. Almost 90 per cent of CEOS said whole-of-industry funding and support for career pathway programs was an effective way to address the skills shortages.