Planning for the long term

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