The demand for Australia’s minerals and metals is growing as several industries embrace advances in technology. Artificial intelligence, big data, automation and remote work are all becoming mainstays in our homes and workplaces.
New technology can make workplaces safer and healthier, especially within the Australian mining industry, where the growing demand for minerals and metals is driving the demand for highly skilled employees. The mining industry added 40,000 jobs in the past five years, and it aims to create 5,000 new apprenticeships within the next few years.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has continued its recruitment of diverse future talent with the release of the ‘Make Your Career in Mining’ careers guide during National Skills Week, which runs from August 23 to August 29. National Skills Week is about raising the profile and status of vocational learning and the attractive career opportunities accessible for all Australians.
Australian mining already employs around 256,000 people, and when the mining equipment, technology and services sector is considered, around one in every ten Australian jobs is in mining or related industries.
Jobs in mining and related industries are stable, high-paying, and mostly permanent in both the regions and the cities, with average mining wages in mining 54% higher than the all-industries average and set to grow as productivity and innovation improve. With more than 100 unique careers across the mining industry, opportunities exist on mine sites, in high-tech remote mining centres, in science as well as computer laboratories – or any mix of locations.
The guide outlines opportunities in managing a team, rehabilitating mine sites, building robotics or piloting drones, engineering machinery, safeguarding native plants and animals, or tackling climate change. There are sections about the increasing representation for women, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the industry, and the ways in which the industry is adapting to become genuinely inclusive.
Australia’s miners produce more than 45 minerals used in the manufacture of products ranging from smartphones, electric cars, space travel, solar panels, glass and concrete to golf clubs, wind turbines and medical implants. Sustainability scores a mention in MCA’s career guide; renewable energy is driving the demand for resources.
Australia is fast becoming the supplier of choice for a low carbon future. Whether it be silver, silicon and copper for solar panels, lithium for battery storage and electric vehicles, or vanadium, cobalt and rare earths for wind turbines, mining will play a key role in a sustainable future.
Whatever your age, background and experience, with so many jobs on offer there has never been a better time to consider a career in Australian mining.
