Entry level Mining Jobs The Best Shot Series

The Best Shot series of videos from our sponsored YouTube (Australian Mining for New Starters) channel is to help a new starters get a job (and survive the first six months) in the Hardrock Underground Mining Industry, using our Intro to Hardrock Underground Mining DIY or Workready packages.
These video’s answer common questions that are asked covering resumes, tickets, interviews, formal qualifications and lots more, if you want into the mining industry then this is a pathway in.

With the Gold price well over $2200 an ounce Australian there has never been a better time for a well prepared new starter to get a job in the industry, there are just not enough experienced people to go around.

If you can show the Foreman/Project Manager that you know how their mine works then you have something to offer them, but you have to be able to answer the mining questions in the interview to give them the confidence to hire you

There is a real opportunity for people to get into the hardrock underground mining industry as a new starter.

As long as you can show the employer you know how their mine works, then you have something to offer. Lots of people have made this work for them, you can to.

Experienced Hardrock Underground miners are thin on the ground, employers have been having to hire new starters for a couple of years now.

The problem that they have is turnover, they end up going through lots of people to find a few that stick.

The more you know about the industry and its culture on day one, the better your chance of making a career out of it.

Hardrock Underground miners can make more than $1500 a day in the top jobs, find out why they get so much money and how you can start your career.

Tickets on Hardrock Underground Mines work differently than other areas of the industry, find out how and why spending big on RII tickets that the employers can’t use is a waste of money.

Find out why employers don’t use formal qualifications in Hardrock Underground Mining.

Why do they only ask for experience?

Find out why the hardrock underground employers can only hire Australian’s (and Kiwi’s) to fill the hardrock underground crew jobs.

Mining in Australia is complicated, there is no national system, each state and territory owns the minerals in the ground and they all have their own set of rules.

Each different type of mining (Hardrock Underground, Open Cut, Coal, Oil &Gas or Iron Ore) requires a different approach and training for a new starter to get a result.

Find out what happens once you get the job as a Nipper, Truck operator or offsider.

Unfortunately getting the job is only part of the battle, you have to make it past the 6 month mark to win the war.

For Hardrock Underground employers teaching someone to drive a hardrock underground truck is easy, most people that can drive a car pick it up in a couple of weeks.

The hard part is teaching that person all the rules and other information (mining knowledge) that they have to know to do their job safely and effectively.

If you can show the employers that you already have your mining knowledge up to speed, then you genuinely have something to offer them.

A straight forward description of how to make your own hardrock underground resume.

Once you have completed the sponsors online training package Intro to Underground Mining DIY you can get your resume sorted and get applying.

It’s the question that everyone wants answered “am I going to make it” and “who makes a career out of this”?

The truth is, its different for every person, there is a lot of moving parts that goes into get your first mining job and then make it past the 6month mark.

However there is one good indicator that most on a underground crew have, watch the video to find out what.

Find out what it means to be a Contractor in the world of Hardrock Underground mining in Australia.

Find out which jobs to apply for to get your start. Understanding how the hardrock underground industry works in its different ways, is important for a new starter to get and keep a job.

The more you know the better your chance of making it.

The best advice I have seen given over the years to new starters is simple, “it’s all about going where the employers are having to hire new starters and then giving them what they want”.

If you can understand which areas of the industry still have experienced people to choose from, then you can focus your efforts in the areas with the best chance of getting a job as a new starter.

The very act of hardrock underground mining is about creating a new area of the mine.

That is at first unsafe It is then the miner’s job to make that area safe and the process is repeated over and over again.

Find out how safe hardrock underground mining is today

Find out why it’s hard to make the jump to a mining job from the utility jobs on hardrock underground mine sites.

This is a good example of how different areas of the industry have different standards.

I am told utility workers on coal mines in QLD are not only paid a lot more than those working on Hardrock Underground mines but are also taken as entry level workers for the mining jobs, that come up on site.

This doesn’t happen on hardrock underground mines

If you like money and aren’t afraid of some hard work, then just about everyone who works on a hardrock underground crew wants this job

Find out why lots of Hardrock Underground interviews will happen over the phone with the person that decides who gets hired and who doesn’t.

Find out some of the different questions that get asked in an hardrock underground interview.

If you go in green (no mining knowledge on day one) then you have a 3 out of 5 chance of not making it past the first 6 months of your new underground mining career.

This isn’t new and happens every time we have a boom, like what’s going on in gold at the moment.

The more you know before you go, the better the chance you have of making it.

Most people give advice in good faith, they give accurate information about how their area of the industry works.

This is why there is so much confusion about what you need to do to get a mining job.

The advice you give someone to get a coal mining job in QLD is very different to the advice you give to someone trying to get a Nipper or Truck job on an hardrock underground mine.

This is where the confusion comes in, all the different areas of mining all use different standards.

There is no one size fits all, you need to target each area individually if you want to get a result!

With the world turned upside down there are some areas of the industry that have stopped or reduced the hiring of new starters.

However there are also areas of the industry that are having to take on lots of new starters to open new mines and ramp up production.

It’s all about going where the employers have to hire new starters and then giving them what they want, someone that knows how their mine works!

You should be applying to every job that comes up, even if you have applied to that company already, find out why?

This is not an easy question to answer, as it is different for everyone that tries to get into the hardrock underground mining industry.

Find out if mines rescue is worth doing as part of your career?

It’s one of those things that is unique to the hardrock underground area of the industry and shows that, the more you know about the industry going in, the better your chance of making a career out of it!

Find out how you should handle the medical, what does the company doctor need to know?

Once you start the employment process, how long each company takes to get you on the job, can be very different, find out how?

Find out what license you will need if you are working on the surface or underground?

Find out what types of guarantees are involved in getting a mining job and working within the industry for a long period of time.

Do you need to move to get a job?

That depends on where you are in Australia, how fast you want to get a job and how well you have prepared yourself.

How to sign up for the sponsors DIY Intro to Underground Mining or the Workready packages, if you want to have a crack at getting into hardrock underground mining!

Hope you got some good info out of the answers in the videos and if you want to check-out the training packages follow the link to our DIY Into to Underground Mining package.

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