Skills shortages a barrier to expansion for mining and resource sector [Australia]
[Source: Mineweb.com, 19
January 2012]
Findings from a joint research programme have
led The Resource Channel (a major marketing group) and Marketforce
(a recruitment website) to claim that the expansion of Australia's
mining and extraction sector is threatened by skills
shortages.
The research notes that not only are other resource-producing
countries either experiencing or anticipating the same level of
growth as Australia, but that the availability of skills is also
consistently raised as an issue. For example, it is estimated that
more than a quarter of technical professionals working for the
energy and petroleum sector in Australia are older than 50 and will
retire in the next five years. In response Jody Elliott of the
Resource Channel argues that more priority should be placed on
apprenticeships, graduate traineeships, and re-skilling workers
from other sectors.
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