RecruitR: Mining Blog

The resources super tax takes it?s first victims?

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:31:21 GMT

It took a few weeks but I have now felt the flow on from the new resource super tax. Last Friday I had my first candidate approach me after Xstrata's announcements. He works for a contractor on the project and is not confident he will have more than a couple of months left as Xstrata changes strategies and cuts its budget. This was on the EHM underground development project.

I read another article the other day about the effects of the suspension of the Wandoan project;

I'm sure we'll see more of these short term effects but it is the longer term ones that I am more interested in?

Indonesian Coal

Tue, 04 May 2010 23:12:36 GMT

I've just returned from a business trip to Jakarta where I met with a number of mining companies. Business is booming in Indonesia and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon.

It was my first time doing business in Indonesia and it was quite the experience. Hectic traffic and heavy security screening coupled with the language barriers made it challenging but very interesting at the same time. My trip gave me a great insight into the expat life and what challenges lay in recruiting people for Indonesia. I met a range of expats; accountants, mining professionals, O&G professionals and everyone spoke highly of the lifestyle and benefits afforded to expats working in Indonesia.

I came out with a couple of jobs and a couple of new contacts and am looking forward to doing more business in the South East Asian region.

Forrest Briggs
Principal Consultant

New tax for miners

Tue, 04 May 2010 23:11:59 GMT

To see my new blog on the proposed mining tax, see here

You heard it here first!

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:37:01 GMT

Following on from my last 2 blogs about the mining industry recovering from the GFC; I received a fantastic email today from the Queensland Resources Council titled Decade of Opportunity for Queensland. Basically the article was saying that there is $115 Billion worth of projects in the pipeline. Anyway you look at it that is a lot of jobs and a lot benefits for all Queenslanders. Have a read and let me know your thoughts?

Forrest Briggs
Principal Consultant
forrest@recruitr.com.au

2010 - Back on track!

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:14:49 GMT

Since October / November last year I have witnessed a great turn around in the industry as I'm sure we all have. Nothing is a more telling sign in the recruitment business then clients calling in looking for people and last week was a great example of this; I had one client call in 7 jobs, another called in 3 to name just a few. Companies are hiring again, people are looking again and 2010 looks like a great year to be.

Everyone that I speak to is talking about bigger things to come.Some say 2010 will be steady and 2011 it will really take off again but most people are just happy that things are back on track. With the major players bringing new projects online like BMA's Daunia, Anglo Coal's Grosvenor as well as hard rock projects like Ernest Henry's underground development going ahead the future looks bright.

It's great to have weathered the storm and everyone here at RecruitR is looking forward to bigger & better things!

Forrest Briggs
Principal Consultant - Mining Specialist
07 3231 0273
e: forrest@recruitr.com.au

New kid on the block

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:14:12 GMT

Whilst action in the Galilee Basin isn't exactly breaking news Clive Palmers' recent announcements about Resourcehouse's coal contract with China has put the spotlight firmly on the Galilee basin. The contract with China Power Investment Corporation is to supply 30 million tones per annum of coal for around $3 billion a year for over 20 years.

The project, aptly named 'China First' will include multiple open cut & underground mines, associated infrastructure and processing facilities, a new railway line linking the project to Abbot Point coal terminal and an airport at this stage. It is expected that the project will generate 6000 jobs in the construction phase and 1500 during operation.

Besides Resourcehouse's subsidiary Waratah Coal; there are many oil & gas companies exploring for coal seam gas.

The project will stretch the skills in the Australian coal industry further and it will be interesting to see where the workers come from.

Forrest Briggs
Principal Consultant
forrest@recruitr.com.au

Planning for the long term

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 07:17:44 GMT

With mining companies looking to cut costs it is important for them to keep in mind that graduates and apprentices are the future of this industry.

There are 2 types of candidates I interview that graduated in the '90s; there those that made it through the downturn around 2000 and those that couldn't find work in the mining industry and sought work elsewhere. During this time there was a significant reduction in graduates and apprentices going into the mining industry and this is one of the reasons Australia has been experiencing skills shortage in the mining sector recently.

Bearing this in mind it is important for senior management of mining companies to take a 'big picture' approach when taking on the graduates & apprentices of 2009. I have been speaking to some of the internal recruiters within the QLD coal industry and there have been reductions in numbers of graduate intakes by some companies whilst others are maintaining similar numbers as last year. I like what Anglo did when quarantining 200 graduates from recent job cuts.

People say the next boom will be bigger than this one, hopefully so, but where will the people come from to support the boom if graduate & apprentice programs are being cut now?

Forrest Briggs
Senior Consultant - Mining Specialist

It?s not all Doom & Gloom

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 02:00:14 GMT

After months of doom & gloom I thought it was time to have some good news, so I've compiled a few positive news articles that the media has published in the last month:

?Good news for gold

?Dollar dump good news for diggers

?Future is positive for SA

? Australian entrepreneurs are among the most optimistic in the world, surpassing the US, Japan and Britain for a positive outlook on the year ahead.

Although these news reports are heavily outweighed by negative stories it's good to see them and realize that this isn't the apocalypse?

Also, I truly believe the media is not doing us any favors in regards to furthering consumer confidence. It seems that every day I'm hearing on the news that there is some new report or statistic that says how many jobs will be lost in Australia, how this crisis will last for years and years, and so on. The market needs more confidence and every time we seem to get a bit back the media murder it!!!

Forrest Briggs

Senior Consultant

A changing market

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:41:18 GMT

Redundancies, mine closures, hiring freezes, unemployment rising;the mining market has turned quickly from a candidate short market to returning power to the employers. Working in recruitment I have seen this change first hand.

My clients have gone from hiring someone that may have had 80% of the skills required of the job, to now being able to hold out for someone that is 100% what they are looking for. With more candidates available in the market, my clients are now able to look toward candidates based in Australia rather than further afield, reducing hiring costs and increasing the speed of their on-boarding process.

Whilst this might sound like "doom and gloom" don't be put off, there are many benefits that aren't initially apparent, such as more focus on your long term career rather than "filling a gap", greater attention is being paid to cultural fit and salaries are becoming more realistic and sustainable.

To help you find the right role, even in this changing market here are some tips that, from experience, will help you secure your new role.

? Be flexible, we all have our list of "ideal conditions", if you are prepared to negotiate this will place you ahead of many.

? Salary - I'm not implying you need to take a drop but you need to understand that you might not get a $15 - 20k pay rise. Don't forget that your career is about long term investment not short term return.

? Location - With this market sometimes we need to go where the work is and that may mean relocating, by being flexible with where you can live you will have more opportunities available to you.

? Career advancement - Don't get me wrong; we all need to keep progressing our careers but you may need to look at taking a step sideways into company that will provide long-term career growth instead of looking for that next jump straight away.

The job market is changing and everyone needs to understand how these changes may affect your next career move and the opportunities that are available to you.

Queensland - Open for business

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:50:07 GMT

"Queensland is open for business". These were the parting words of Queensland's Premier, Anna Bligh, at yesterday's Queensland Resource Council's (QRC) annual lunch.

The fantastic event began with a forum hosted by ABC'sAlan Kohler and boasted a panel that included industry leaders. Discussing the issues that are effecting the mining & resources industry were outgoing CEO of Ensham Resources , John Pegler, Macarthur Coal Chief & new the new president of QRC (replacing John Pegler), Nicole Hollows, Steve de Kruijff of Xstrata Copper, Andrew Gillies, MD of Metallica Minerals and Rick Wilkinson of Santos.

These distinguished leaders and members of the audience discussed many different topics including the global economic situation and predictions for the future, infrastructure constraints, rail costs & opportunities for improvement, greenhouse gas emissions and clean coal technology. One issue that was raised that really caught my attention was the increased length of time it takes to get a project off the ground from what it did 10 years ago. Nicole Hollows highlighted this with the illustration of Coppabella minegoing from complete greenfields to operational in 15 months (if my memory serves me correctly) and the average time for a project to become operational nowadays is 3-4 years at a minimum. This delay combined with the uncertainty of commodity prices, along with the risk of debt and commitment required by rail and port make it all the more difficult for up and coming miners to start a new operation. One common theme among all the presenters was the focus on using this down time to build infrastructure to be prepared for the next boom.

After the forum wound up all 900 attendees made their way into the main dining hall and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Anna Bligh then presented to us and painted a picture that was aimed to inspire confidence within the resources sector. Anna Bligh highlighted that In light of recent global events, to ensure the resources sector moves forward the government is concentrating on infrastructure so when the new boom kicks in there will be no bottlenecking. This was a lead-up to the highlight of the event; the announcement that Wiggins Island Coal Terminal Pty Ltd would get preferred status for new infrastructure projects and funding would come through by the end of next year .She also indicated that $36 Billion would be spent on infrastructure between now and 20015.

Overall it was a great event and one that I found informative and fun.

Take your pick in Gladstone

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:56:55 GMT

Within Queensland there is an abundant of major mining and marine projects that are about to commence. However it seems that Gladstone is hogging the spotlight as there are four separate projects that are valued in the multi millions through to the multi billion dollar mark and they are kicking off within the next six months.

Between Yarwun, Boyne Island, Wiggins Island , and the LNG plant there will be an overwhelming amount of opportunities for qualified trades or engineering personal to have a choice of work. What will make it difficult for staff in Gladstone is the shortage of housing and infrastructure to support such an influx of people. With that being said, there are a number of companies that are providing accommodation which is a huge incentive to pack the bags and relocate to the coastal town for a year or two.

If you are in the business of heavy industry construction, then Gladstone would be a place to consider as you work close to home and your back yard is the Great Barrier Reef ?

Christian Sticklen, Senior Consultant
Heavy Industry Construction
christian@recruitr.com.au

Attracting international talent?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:00:21 GMT

With Australia currently experiencing the much publicised skills shortage employers are looking overseas to fill vacancies more and more. Some of my clients that have never accepted overseas applicants have recently become registered sponsors for 457 visas.

Many of my clients expect that in the current market climate it will take them between 6 and 12 months to fill some of their vacancies using the methods of recruitment typically undertaken in recruitment campaigns. Obviously this presents a significant cost to their overall operations that might be greater than the perceived "potential risk" of employing overseas applicants without Australian market experience. Currently 457 visas are being processed quicker than everand many resources have sprung up that assist candidates in setting up home in Australia.

So what can employees do to better their chances of companies sponsoring them? Ensure your qualifications are recognised in Australia, here is a link to another blog which discusses this further or for engineering skills assessment , get medical, police checks and other documentation for you and your family prepared in advance (this will speed up the process and demonstrate to potential employers that you are committed), be willing to come to Australia on a working holiday visa till your 457 comes through, minimise the cost of your relocation.

For employers, we can manage comprehensive overseas campaigns to attract high quality applicants - feel free to give me a call to discuss.

Forrest Briggs, Senior Consultant

forrest@recruitr.com.au