Fears worker shortages will stifle resources industry in Queensland

Resource industry leaders say anti-coal sentiment, and stiff competition from construction is driving current and future workers away from mining as a career path, sparking shortages.

Mining companies are concerned there won’t be enough staff for the roles neede.

Mining companies are worried there won’t be enough staff to support the sector over the next 20 years.

Resource industry leaders say misconceptions, anti-coal sentiment, as well as stiff competition against the construction industry was driving current and future workers away from mining as a career path.

“It’s right upon us now,” Resources Centre of Excellence general manager Steven Boxall said.

“Look at all the construction that’s happening in southeast Queensland, the money that’s being spent by the government in civil projects like roads and tunnels.

“We’ve got the infrastructure for the 2032 Olympics. I think we’re already at a tipping point where we don’t have enough people to work in the sectors that we need.”

Seek currently has 5683 job vacancies listed for the mining, resources and energy section, 1561 of those are across Queensland.

“The world is going to keep on growing, which means the demand for actual people in the Bowen Basin is going to keep on growing,” Mr Boxall said.

Mine companies are worried there won’t be enough staff to fill the available roles.

“Mine operators and even mining services businesses are not looking at a two-year or five-year plan. They’re looking at their 10-year, 20-year plan.

“We need to try and encourage that pathway for kids to want to pursue an industry that is supporting the world,” he said, adding a lot more work was needed to ensure people “and particularly kids in schools” understood the opportunities available.

And the answer, he said, lay in education and understanding the role coal played in decarbonised future.

“And that if you work in this sector, you’re not destroying the world,” Mr Boxall said.

Resource Centre of Excellence general manager Steven Boxall.

“You’re actually working for some of the companies that are the most sensitive and focused to their ESG (environmental, social and governance) requirements and you’re doing great things all around the world, whether that be providing steel for renewable energy, providing power for communities that are currently living in poverty.”

Queensland Resources Council chief executive officer Janette Hewson said concerns over skilled worker shortages stretched beyond the mining sector and was a “phenomena being felt across all industries and agriculture at the moment”.

Ms Hewson said the sector had a number of avenues targeting new workers as well as focusing on retention, including programs for older school students showing real life applications for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“We’ve got a lot of data that shows us that by engaging with school students and bringing STEM to life and actually showing them what types of careers are waiting for them once they finish school, that that’s having a really positive impact in terms of bringing people across,” she said.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive officer Janette Hewson. Pics Adam Head

Ms Hewson believed the shift away from the resources industry was being more felt in urban areas, as regional areas had “more of a connection and an understanding of the sector”.

“In terms of urban areas, then I think that obviously young people are concerned about ESG. They are concerned about net zero,” she said.

“And one of the really important things that we can do is to explain what is it that our industry is doing to achieve net zero.

“It’s very important for us to communicate that if you join the resources sector, you can actually be part of the solution to getting to net zero, and you can be part of that solution in terms of responsible environmental stewardship as well.”

Ms Hewson said the sector provided a lot of career opportunities for environmental scientists, engineers who wanted to specialise in decarbonisation and people who want to specialise in rehabilitation.

“That’s the work that we do need to do and we recognise that we need to explain the different facets of our industry to a younger generation,” she said.