Young Australians say "I don't know anything about mining." Is this where mining's recruitment problems start?
Young Australians are oblivious to the opportunities available in mining, a new study by research company YouthSight has shown.
According to the researchers, 59% of young people in Australia know nothing at all about mining careers, even though mining contributes to roughly 6% of Australia’s GDP.
The study was conducted with 1061 senior high school students and first-year university students aged between 15 and 20. While they did discover that 30% of students were interested in a career in mining or the mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector, the overall finding was that the remainder of students knew very little about mining careers and the opportunities in the industry.
Forty-five per cent of the respondents said: “It’s not an industry I’ve ever thought about,” while 40% admitted: “I don’t know anything about mining.”
These findings won’t be too surprising to anyone who has been following the problems the mining industry has been experiencing with regards to recruiting new talent.
What do the young people care about?
Unsurprisingly, it was found that the survey participants’ interest in the mining sector was piqued when they learned about the salaries and benefits available, as well as the stability that comes from there being such demand in this sector.
- 48% showed interest based on high incomes
- 20% showed interest based on the number of jobs and opportunities on offer.
Mining and METS jobs make up one in every 10 jobs in Australia. Yet, somehow, young Australians appear unfamiliar with or uninterested in the industry.
The mining industry in Australia has a problem with perception. As we’ve written in the past, mining is not seen as a “cool” sector and a recent study revealed that many outside of the industry don't see how they benefit from it.
With many young people wanting to be part of something meaningful that is technologically innovative and has a positive impact on the future, mining is actually a dream sector.
The challenge is to change the perception.
METS Ignited CEO, Ric Gros told mining.com that: “Australia’s world-class METS sector will need many highly-skilled young people to fill the jobs of tomorrow including drone pilots, environmental and social scientists and engineers. The jobs are there.”
So, who or what is to blame for mining’s image problem?
The reality is that Australian mining employment is cool, innovative and prosperous enough to propel the careers of Australia's youth. We just need to work now to spread the word.
Young Australians in mining are paid 67% higher than the average of all other industries! As well as being better trained, there is a much higher proportion of apprentices in mining than in other sectors. This is good news worth spreading. But whose job is it to spread that news?
That’s precisely what we want to know in our next MPi Poll. Visit the MPi Media and Polling Centre to have your say in July.