AMMA launches jobs portal as labour demand spirals

Ahead of the Federal Government's national jobs forum, resource industry employer group AMMA has activated Australia’s first industry-operated online jobs and careers portal, www.miningoilandgasjobs.com, to connect Australians with job opportunities in the mining boom. Leading economists predict up to 750,000 new jobs will be created on the back of Australia’s mining boom in the coming decades and resource industry employers right across the country have begun posting their job vacancies on the website.

AMMA developed the site in the wake of the National Resource Sector Employment Taskforce (NRSET) report and undertook extensive consultation with its key members the federal government and industry stakeholders in the process.

With other sectors of the economy shedding jobs and Australian workers seeking ways to enter the resource industry, miningoilandgasjobs.com has generated thousands of hits and continues to gather further momentum well before its official November launch. The NRSET highlights current activity will create about 62,000 new mining jobs by 2015, also stating employers in the resource industry need to be innovative in their approach to sourcing and retaining employees. "The Federal Government’s NRSET report highlights how dire the skills shortage in the resource industry will be in just a few years, unless government and industry groups such as AMMA take leadership," said AMMA Director Minna Knight.

"The NRSET research was conducted in the first half of 2010 and since then we've seen further multibillion-dollar project approvals, record resources exports and heightened mining activity across the board. This demonstrates the figure of 63,000 is merely a starting point for industry estimates.

"A more recent independent report shows Queensland alone will require around 15,000 semi-skilled workers and labourers for the five-year period from 2011. This is before even considering the traditional areas of skills shortages which are in professional roles including geoscientists, engineers and project management.

"Miningoilandgasjobs.com went live in late September 2011, instantly becoming the largest source of information about employment in the resource industry for jobseekers, employers, recruiters, registered training organisations and suppliers. The site contains industry information on mining, oil and gas, energy and alternative energy. Importantly, it also provides comprehensive information about living and working in Australia, valuable career resources, and training and development.

"The Mining Oil and Gas Jobs website supports AMMA's goal of encouraging workers to plan long-term careers in the industry by including a Careers and Industry Guide to help in the planning process," Knight said. "This exhaustive Careers and Industry Guide is what sets the website apart from universal jobs boards available to jobseekers. It has been designed specifically to address the skills shortage in the Australian resource industry and connect all Australians to the mining boom."