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Using the DIY training to get yourself a mining job

There has never been a better time to get a start in the mining industry by using the DIY training to get yourself a job. So where are the jobs then? The majority of entry level jobs are in the Hardrock Underground area of the industry. At the moment underground gold, nickel, copper, zinc, lithium and other base metal mines 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.

So how do you get a job with the training then?

Employers want experience, there is no way around that. However, it’s not the type of experience people think they want. Most people think that its time driving a truck, loader or other piece of equipment with a ticket attached, that will get them a job. The person that decides who gets hired like the foreman or PM (project manager). They could care less about your equipment tickets. They can’t use them and have to issue their own onsite equipment tickets. If you come at the Foreman or PM with a resume full of equipment tickets. It just screams “I don’t know how your mine works” and those resumes get culled in the first round.

All the employers are forced in to using a sink or swim training system. Having to hire people, then teach them on the job (sink or swim), always has a high turnover. Showing the employer, you are up for the challenge by turning up knowing how to swim (how the mine works and the jobs you are expected to do) is huge and puts you 6 to 8 weeks ahead of anyone else apply for these jobs. The employers want someone that they can throw in the deep end straight away. Someone that knows what to do if a rock slides down your scaling bar. Someone who can tell them how they would water down a heading and what a heading is. All questions, someone with 6months experience should be able to answer. If you can show them you know how their mine works then you are well on your way to getting a job.

It’s not hard once you utilise the detailed information in the DIY package. You just need to coordinate your approach with this and follow the steps below.

Study

As already discussed, you need to know what’s in the course, inside and out (this is what the employers are looking for). I tell people to get their kids, partners or friends to test them on their mining knowledge from the course. Whatever you can do to learn the information, do it. This is what gets you the job and is what the employers are looking for.

Redo your resume

There are clear instructions in the back of The Australian Mining Seminar on how to redo your resume. Using the course on the front page as a focal point. I am yet to meet a Foreman or Project Manager that doesn’t want to talk to someone that has completed the training. It takes 2 minutes to work out if the person has studied. If they have, then it becomes an easy win. It only takes the new starter a couple of weeks to find their feet and become a productive member of crew. Instead of the months it can take if the person knows nothing about mining on day one.

Apply, apply, apply

If you type “underground” into seek, you will see all the jobs come up. Once you have completed the training you should be applying to all the Nipper, Truck Operator, Agi Operator, Paste Crew, Service Crew or Diamond Driller Offsider jobs. It doesn’t matter how much experience the job ask for, apply for everything. The last 4 people to get nipper and truck jobs all applied to ads that asked for more than 6 months experience and got the job.

The Interview

Unfortunately, we can’t do the interview for you. However we can prepare you for the common questions they ask. These instructions are in the back of The Australian Mining Seminar and go into great detail. Covering what the employers do and don’t want to hear. This is make or break and why I tell people the training isn’t a magic bullet. You get out of it, what you put into it, this bit is up to you. Lots of people have done it for themselves already. Just make sure you have studied enough before sending your new resume out.

Making it past the first 6 months

Once you get the job, then keeping it becomes the challenge. You need to be able to be left alone to get on with the job, like any other member of crew. This is your safe space, until you get there you are still in danger of getting culled. Its important that you stay in your first job for at least 6 months as employers look on it as failure if you don’t. I know lots of Foreman that see it as buying into failure, to hire someone that couldn’t do six months in their first mining job.

Hope that this info helps. The video above shows you where the jobs are around the country. The secret to get one of these underground mining jobs is to show the employers that you know how their mine works and what is going to be expected of you on site. When you can do that you have something to offer.
 
You can use either the Workready or DIY Intro to Underground Mining packages. To get your mining knowledge up to speed and have crack at getting a start as a Nipper, Truck Operator, Diamond Driller Offsider or Agi Operator. To see the people that have done it, checkout our Wall of Fame page. Or if you want to talk to a shift boss you can use the contact us area on the page or follow the link to the enquiry page.
 
Regards

The Mining Coach
 
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