The best advice to get your mining start

The best advice to get your mining start

The best advice I have ever received, heard or have given, in regards to getting a mining start, is to.

 

Go where employers have no choice but to hire new starters and give them what they want!

 

The key factor that most people get wrong when applying this advice. Is, they keep looking in areas of the industry where employers have a choice of people. The choice to hire experienced people. Or the choice to lower their wages bills, by offering 1 to 2 year traineeships on a limited amount of money (normally $75K for a 2&1 roster).

Areas of the industry where employers have choice

 

Iron Ore
Coal
Big Hardrock FIFO open pits
Shutdown work
Construction

 

How can you tell these employers have choice? Wages, all these employers are paying significantly less in wages than they have in the past. The only way they can do this, is if there is an over supply of experienced people. Shutdown work rates are a good example, of how hourly rates can almost half when employers have choice. 5 years ago, shutdown workers were making $80 to $100 plus an hour. Today rates range from $40 to $60 an hour. You can only drop wages that much if you have more people than you need.

Areas of the industry where employers have NO choice

 

Hardrock Underground
Exploration
Small mining town based pits

 

Employers operating underground gold, nickel, copper, zinc, lithium and other base metal mines have no choice but to hire entry level people to fill their Nipper, Truck Operator, Agi Operator or Diamond Driller Offsider jobs. 5 years ago, an underground truck operator was lucky to make $320 a day. Today its $550 a day for someone with 6 months experience. Its not just the truck rate going up underground, its every job with people being paid $1000’s a day, to do some jobs. Exploration also experiencing wage rises for drillers and offsiders.

So how do you?

 

Give the employers what they want?

 

If you have no practical experience, then you can still educate yourself to how the employers mine works. When you can do that, it changes the game. Being able to talk to the foreman or project manager (the person who decides who gets hired) about the exact jobs you are going to be expected to do, using the correct terminology, always goes down well. This is how you can get a job, without practical experience. You can see the jobs in the video below.

If you want to start a career in underground mining. Then check out our DIY Introduction to Underground Mining  and Workready packages. The employers are looking for people that can answer the mining questions in an interview. Who are happy to relocate for a job, if necessary. Employers all around the country are having to hire new starters for the Nipper, Truck Operator, Agi Operator or Diamond Driller Offsider jobs. If you type “underground” into seek, you will see all the jobs come up.

 

If you would like to talk to one of the Shift Bosses about how to get a start in the mining industry then you can leave your details in this link.

I hope that info helps.

 

The Mining Coach

 

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