rickmoore1 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 . Need advise on the mining work in w.a. ? Hi I am just finishing of my visa to come over to W.A. i am a refrigeration engineer by trade working mostly on commercial catering equipment. for the past year i have been working from Thailand flying all over south east Asia training on the equipment my company produces. I am aware i will need to get the Australian refrigeration and electrical qualifications before i can get work and have allowed for 4-6 months sorting this all out. Hopefully i can do it quicker as i have been in contact with the collage that will asses me and give the training required to get the Australian qualifications. I have 10 years experience with refrigeration equipment and a further 6 with electrical and mechanical maintenance i did an electrical / mechanical aprentaship at a lead processing factory in the u.k. before working for a refrigeration company fixing commercial refrigeration systems chillers freezers etc. from this job I have been working as the technical refrigeration engineer for a u.s.a. based company. They manufacture commercial fast food refrigeration equipment. I have been living in Bangkok and working all over Asia in this role. So the question is how much work is there available in these mines in w.a. for a skilled guy? I don’t mind being on site for 4 weeks at a time as I am single so no one is pushing me to go home I can do as I please. I do have a friend that has been working in a mine now for 6 months and he tells me he got a gob in two weeks after he got his Australian qualifications and he was offered 4 jobs the same week. He is now working 4 weeks on 1 off from a mine in w.a. has he been lucky or is there a genuine skils shortage in w.a. and people with skills like refrigeration, electrical, hydraulics etc can almost pick and choose the jobs? Would love some other peoples opinions on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I can't answer on the specifics but I do know it is hard to score a mining job without FIFO/Off-shore experience. The reason I understand is it is a very tough life and companies are not keen to go through the incredible costs associated with recruitment to have the employee leave after a few months (typically an employer only gets a return on their investment if an employee stays at least 12 months) I'd definitely emphasise your 'living out a suitcase' lifestyle travelling all over Asia and the fact you are single will go in your favour. If you are in the 25-40 age group I suspect that will help as well. I'm not in the mining industry so this is just my opinion based on the stuff you read locally and friends experiences. Even in my office based role, it is difficult to break in to mining companies, as even then they prefer people with sector experience, I've come close a couple of times but they tend to interview for projects long before they need people and when the offers have come through it's been too late! As you friend has shown it can be done - it may be hard to find but there was a long post of here a couple of years ago with a lot of good advice on how to get a job in the mining industry. Good luck! Jules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmoore1 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Thanks yes i should have said i am 30 years old so that would put me in the range you have suggested. Thanks for the advise all thoughts are welcome. Regards Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I work in mining, but this is an area i dont know a lot about. However, firstly, i imagine it would be on a contract basis as no mine is going to need you there very much. Second, i would imagine it has been affected at least partly by the downturn that we have experienced in mining in the last few months. However, with such specialist skills, you may well be lucky. Do though think long and hard about why you want a FIFO life. Mine sites can be dull, long hours, oppressive heat and the premium for being stuck in the middle of nowhere often isnt that high in dollars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmoore1 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 I have been doing the fifo thing for some time now all over Asia and when i get to these locations i may be there for a month at a time. yes i will be in a big city but i don't talk the language and i never seem to do less than a 12 hour days, with 16 hour days common. so the mine should be some what good as at least i can have a decent conversation in English and they may be boring but when you have time of then its up to you where you go and make up for lost time :-) i see jobs advertised for refrigeration / air conditioning guys to work full time on mine sites taking care of the village sites split air-cons, kitchen equipment, machine water chillers etc is it realistic to expect to be able to get these jobs? has w.a. relay got a skills shortage in these areas? i have seen company's advertising will fly you in and out from any where in Australia this says to me they are having real difficulty filling positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Yes, there would be jobs doing that. I wouldnt have a clue about them as mining companies have this done by subcontractors - often people like ESS who are part of compass group. If it is through them, i woulod be wary of what pay they are offering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.