Why action is needed
During the public consultation process, stakeholders told us that a lack of skilled workers is a significant risk facing the sector. According to Jobs and Skills Australia, the country has a national shortage of key professions such as:
- mining engineers
- geological, geotechnical and processing engineers
- geologists
- hydrogeologists
- metallurgists.
Australia is competing in an increasingly challenging and competitive labour market, with the OECD reporting labour markets globally have tightened across countries and sectors (OECD 2022). In early 2022, Europe reported 1.2 million open job roles across all sectors. According to one estimate, the US Inflation Reduction Act will create demand for 5.9 million new jobs in US clean energy and manufacturing over the next decade (Pollin et al, 2022). In Australia, there are nearly 440,000 vacant positions, including more than 10,000 in the mining sector and more than 25,000 in the manufacturing sector (ABS 2023).
Skills shortages coupled with a reluctance of young people and recent graduates to join the mining sector present a real risk for the sector more broadly but also for the critical minerals industry. Only 15 per cent of respondents to a global survey said they would be interested in working in mining and only 54 per cent believed that the mining sector is an essential part of the global climate solution (BDO 2022). There is a role for governments and industry to continue to communicate the actions it is taking to generate positive environmental and social impact, including its vital role in enabling a future green economy.
Australia’s resources sector employs more than 290,000 people (ABS 2023) and accounts for 14 per cent of our GDP (Office of the Chief Economist 2022). Women make up less than 15 per cent of the large-scale mining workforce around the world, and 18 per cent in Australia (Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development 2022). The mining sector has the second-lowest proportion of women employees. Low participation rates can be due to remote locations, cultures that are not inclusive, job security, and a lack of flexible working options such as part-time and job-sharing arrangements.
Reaching net zero by 2050 will require the expertise of the resources sector. The critical minerals industry will need many more workers for existing mines and projects coming through the development pipeline. Critical minerals mining and processing are complex operations in remote locations that need highly skilled workers and technicians in a range of fields. We need highly skilled metallurgists, mining engineers, industrial chemists, earth scientists and many more if we are to fully capture the opportunity at hand. This is a valuable opportunity for people at all stages of their career to consider the diverse career options available in the critical minerals sector to drive the net zero transition.
The sector can also create economic opportunities in regional communities, including those in economic transition. It will do this by providing training and jobs for local people and opportunities for local businesses.
These benefits increase as Australian projects move further down the value chain. Increasing value-added processing onshore in Australia could attract further investment, create more jobs and deepen the economic opportunity for communities. For example, by developing diversified battery industries, including downstream, activities Australia’s battery industry and mineral value chains could support 61,400 direct jobs by 2030 (Accenture 2023).