Resourcing the Future
[Monday, 1 March 2010]

Resources taskforce sets high mark in building skills for the future

Group Training Australia (GTA), representing the single largest network employing apprentices and trainees, today welcomed the report of the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce as a vital step in developing the skills and training needed to help build a vibrant mining and resources sector.

The discussion paper, Resourcing the Future, raises important issues in developing a long term and sustainable skills base for one of our most important industries.

CEO of Group Training Australia, Jim Barron said the needs of the resources sector over coming decades warrant a fundamental analysis of where the necessary skills will be sourced, who will provide them, and what level of training needs to be developed.

“We need to start looking beyond economic cycles and understand that the requirements of the resources sector will be fundamental to our national prosperity for a considerable time.

“This means ensuring that our training system has the expertise and flexibility to ensure a steady flow of the best people with the skills that allow us to compete at the highest international standards.

“Encouraging young people to enter the industry is absolutely critical, as is making sure that they are equipped to work on a range of resources projects in different locations, with the maximum flexibility.

“The industry needs to strike a balance between the need for fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) arrangements in meeting some of the industry’s immediate needs, and the longer term requirement for a workforce with skills for the future. We shouldn’t resort to short term measures as an excuse to drop meaningful trades training and skills development,” he said.

“GTA welcomes the approach of the taskforce in opening up a series of possible reform questions that will need to be addressed if we are to avoid skills shortages that could threaten our national prosperity.

“It’s an approach that requires all parties to adopt a national, not a sectoral, approach if we are to get the very best out of our resources industry workforce,” he said.

GTA is a member of the Skills Reference Group of the Taskforce and looks forward to contributing the views of the group training sector to the consultation process.