What Mining Qualifications are needed for Entry Level Mining Jobs
What Mining Qualifications are needed?
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 Mines Inspectorate and their own set of rules that the mines must follow. We are going to use the Western Australia has a Mining Safety Act & Regulations 2022 as the example. WA is seen as world’s best practice and the other Inspectorates have adopted their standards in their Mining Regulations. This means while there is no national system, there is a level of conformity using best practices around the country.
As the example we are going to use a new starter looking for a job as a Nipper, Truck Operator, Service Crew, Paste Crew, Agi or Diamond Driller Offsider. To show what the employers can and can’t use in these jobs and what they really want. I will also cover how the rules change if you move from looking for a Mining job to a Shutdown, Construction or Civil job. While these jobs may occur on a mine site they are not subject to the same standards, which we will explain below.
To start with lets have a look at the entry level jobs ad and see what is required for one of the above job ads. You just have to type “Underground” into Seek to see all the jobs come up. If you look at the truck ads and the Mining Qualifications they ask for, the one thing you wont see is the employer asking for Machinery Tickets or a Cert 2 or 3 in Hardrock Underground Mining. The reason is simple, if we use the Western Australia has a Mining Safety Act & Regulations 2022 as the example
675BA. Site induction for new workers
675BB. Duty of persons conducting businesses or undertaking to ensure competency of workers
As you can read the employers must
given adequate information, training and instruction in safety procedures and systems of work and in the tasks required of the worker
assessed before commencing work at the mine to ensure that the worker is competent to perform the tasks required of them and to operate any plant the worker will be required to operate
This is why every mine I’ve worked on (I started as a Nipper at the end of 1994) has required its own onsite induction and machinery tickets, none of which are transferable. This means that the RII Tickets that are being sold as Mining Qualifications or mining friendly to “help you get a job” are just a waste and being sold to you by someone that doesn’t really understand the industry and what Mining Qualifications are really required.
Does this mean they can’t use a Cert 2 and Cert 3?
Yes!
Because the employers have to do their own onsite assessment the qualifications are useless.
But the TAFE system says there are courses when you do a search?
Yes, if you do a search you will find the outlines of the Mining Qualifications, certificate 2-4 in underground operations, there are lots of units listed. The problem is trying to find a RTO that will provide a course for you as a new starter. We could on find one charging $3500 for a course and you have to be in the industry and able to be assessed on site to complete it (pointless for someone already in the industry). The last TAFE to run a course I know of was in Bendigo Victoria, that stopped years ago.
So why are there so many units but no courses? Years ago a couple of the larger underground contractor companies turned their training departments into RTO’s. In the hope of being able to issue just one ticket that covers many mines. The idea was to turn each procedure into a unit and get the staff to sit each unit. That way their staff wouldn’t have to fill out all the paper work and do the required assessment each time they changed sites. They spent millions putting the new system in place, then the mines inspectors in each state said, NO. For the WA mines department it was a hard NO with the companies involved at the time suffering strict auditing. To the point that in almost 20years no one has tried to change the system again.
From a safety point of view requiring each mine site to have its own set of paperwork has been and is a key part of the improved safety in the Australian Hardrock mining industry. It makes the people running the mine very accountable, you only have to look at the recent prosecutions in WA to see that.
So what about the S11, White Card, Civil, Construction and Shutdown work?
If we use a Shutdown or some onsite Construction work, as an example happening on a mine. Then the mine owner will summit paperwork to the reverent authority, suspending mining operations in that area of the mine. They call it “a probation of mining” in the area that the work is taking place. Because it is no longer an active mine site (in that area) the employees no longer need be assessed on site, they can us the national system instead, that is covered by the RII equipment ticket system.
This is where the confusion comes in with Mining Qualifications . If the workers coming to site for the shutdown, where coming to an active mine. Then they would need to be assessed the same way the mine workers are. However because of the probation or suspension of mining in the area, they don’t have to be assessed, they can use their national RII tickets. People (including AI) conflate the requirements for the jobs, thinking that because it all happens on a mine site, it’s all the same rules. When there is a big difference of what is required, if the area is actively being mined or if there is a probation notice in place.
The underground mine is a unique workplace that shutdown or construction workers rarely enter, which is why there are no real transferable skills. The advice to get a shutdown job, so you can get a Miners job, is poor advice. In my experience all shutdown work leads to is more shutdown work, because that is what you know, and they don’t teach you anything about how the mine works on shutdowns. So people get stuck.
Yes, this means you don’t need a white card for the actual mining jobs, again go and look at the jobs on Seek “Underground”. For the mining jobs employers don’t want or need a white card, nor do they need an S11 unless it is a Coal mine in QLD.
The S11 generic induction is only required for coal mines in Queensland, it has no relevance in any other state. Coal operations in QLD make up roughly 10% of Australia’s total mining sector, with around 60 surface and underground coal mines across the region.
Despite this, the S11 is often marketed as a general mining requirement (including by AI), leading many job seekers to mistakenly believe it applies to all mining roles nationwide and is an important part of Mining Qualifications. In reality, hardrock mines do not require the S11, understanding this can save job seekers unnecessary expenses and confusion.
So how do you help people get Mining jobs without formal Mining Qualifications?
Underground Training, does training for the entry level jobs that are in the Hardrock underground mining industry. You only need a manual license, you don’t need any equipment tickets as the employers we deal with have to issue their own onsite equipment tickets and procedures. The jobs are Nipper, Truck Operator, Service Crew, Paste Crew, Agi or Diamond Driller Offsider all starting at $90K a year or more.
Employers are looking for entry-level people on all underground Gold and Copper mine’s around Australia. They all have the same problem, teaching someone to drive the truck is the easy part. Teaching them enough about how the mine works, so they can be left alone to drive the truck on their own, that’s the hard part and why there is a high turnover of new starters. Knowing how the mine works is a skill all employers need their employees to have (which most new starters overlook).
So, if you can show the employer that you know how their mine works and what’s going to be expected of you working on their mine site, then you have something to offer them. Showing the employer that you understand the culture, language, know their “systems of work” it’s a huge advantage and puts you 6 to 8 weeks ahead of everyone else they are interviewing for these jobs. This is all about setting yourself up for success in the industry and being ready to be thrown in the deep end.
When you sign up for our DIY introduction to underground mining training package, you get full instructions on how to redo your resume (it takes about 2 hours to do yourself), interview prep questions, as well as a mining company to apply to directly. If you want your resume done for you checkout our 3 Step Plan package.
If you want help getting in, they also do a Workready package, where you get a ticketed WA shift boss to help you with the mining information, redo your resume, interview prep and come up with a plan of where and how to get in.
If you’ve got any questions or if you’d like to talk to someone, please follow this link
Or call 1300 609 119 to find out more.
Hope that info helps
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