WA mining hopefuls need to get real on salary

JOB seekers headed to WA in search of lucrative mining jobs need to “get real” about salaries and undergo appropriate training,recruiters say.

Despite predictions WA will need an extra 488,500 workers in the next decade, people still struggle to get the jobs they want.

Hays senior regional director Jane McNeill says there is a “steady flow of overseas candidates” for jobs across the board. Other recruitment agencies told The Sunday Times that highly skilled positions, such as heavy diesel fitters, drillers and boilermakers, were in shortest supply and workers with experience in most areas of the resources industry were highly sought after.

Banking, financial planners and credit analysts are also in short supply and demand for engineering technical officers, design co-ordinators and environmental health officers is increasing.

Hays regional director Simon Winfield says people often believe they can get jobs on mines without any qualifications and are “misguided” about salaries.

“As a 22-year-old guy having spent a week doing some basic training on how to drive a truck, you can’t then immediately expect to walk into a $120,000-a-year job on a Monday morning driving a haul pack that’s worth $800,000 it’s never going to happen,” he says.

ManpowerGroup managing director Lincoln Crawley says it is more a case of “talent mismatch” than skills shortage because there were plenty of job seekers.

“The issue is that there is a mismatch between the skills that they have and the skills the employees are looking for,” he says.

Mr Crawley says companies, especially those in the mining sector, needed to “unbundle” roles so that highly skilled employees only undertake technical tasks. Another employee could then be hired to do the semi-skilled or unskilled portion of the role, he says.

CareerOne.com.au business development manager Jason Sutherlin says companies are often unwilling to be flexible and want the perfect candidate.

And Mr Crawley says some employers are picky, wanting an exact fit, but are slowly reintroducing training as they recover from the financial crisis. More companies are willing to look overseas to find the perfect fit.

Recruiters say candidates need to research the market and get training in the skills needed. To get a foot in the door, people should be prepared to take a $50,000-a-year salary as a trainee or apprentice.