The growth in Australia’s mining industry was recently highlighted by the Fairfax Employment Forecast (May 2013), which revealed that there has been a rise in the number of mining jobs over the last 12 months.
The Australian Metal and Mining Association (AMMA) reports that the Australia Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) most recent Labour Force figures reveal that 261,100 Australians were employed as a result of the investment in the country’s mining, oil and gas projects.
Around $268 billion worth of resource projects are reported to remain under construction in Australia, with more being considered.
The AMMA’s site director Kyla Jones says that as more of these projects reach “final investment decision” they expect skills demand and recruitment in the industry to remain very strong.
“If this pipeline of projects can be secured for our shores through creating an environment more conducive to investment, government estimates tell us that the construction demands alone could create around 135,000 new jobs by 2018,” Ms Jones said in a statement released today (June 21).
She adds that much of this future demand will be driven by the LNG sector, with tradespeople such as welders and boilermakers already in short supply.
These findings could come as welcome news to those pursuing apprenticeships in Queensland, based in these industries.
