Guest karldyble Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Getting in to the Mining Industry in WA with no experience. What you need to know. My background, I landed in Perth in Jan 2010, with no knowledge or interest in mining as I had been a plasterer in England. I decided that I’d had enough of that so I got into a few other things and after I found they weren’t for me I decided to go full tilt at the mining industry….easy work….loads of money and only working half the year….hell yeah… let me at it… and then it got complicated. The following is the result of all my mistakes. Read it and hopefully you will save yourselves a ton of time and money. First - the DO’s. Get your HR license (HGV license or similar in UK). Book this as soon as you can as it gets booked up pretty fast. They do it Perth but it’s easier if you can do it somewhere quieter. You will need to do the ‘unrestricted’ or ‘open’ Road Ranger gear box course! Regardless of the fact that the majority of trucks on a mine are automatic. Keens Brothers in Bunbury do a two day course for about $1000 but you will need to do your learners permit at a licensing centre first, 17 questions and they ask you about 12. Costs about $120. A HR license is the absolute minimum pre-requisite. You will see some that don’t ask for it but most will and I have seen countless jobs pass me buy because of my dithering over whether I needed it or not – You do. An Australian Police Clearance certificate – post office about $50 – they need to know you’ve been a good boy. Even if you’re a crim in England it won’t show up here so be nice…until you get a job at least!! The should DO’s The most popular things that are looked on ‘favourably’ are; Forklift license – Consolidated Training Services do a one day course - $400 Senior First Aid – St Johns ambulance Australia two day course – about $150 Four Wheel drive and Defensive driving – 2 day course – Eureka 4WD - $300 (ish) Elevated Work Platform (EWP) – about $500 MARCSTA – Mining Safety induction – one day - $120 (not necessary but some like it), most companies will do their own version in the induction. A medical Examination – you can do this yourself if you really want or most co’s will require it anyway in addition to a pre-employment drug and alcohol screen. For people who want to really get stuck in; Dogging and Rigging (rigging crane loads and crane communication) – about $1000 DON’T DO!!! Don’t spend $3000 on a dump truck course, as with no experience it’s meaningless and you will still have to be a labourer or TA (Trades Assistant) and any good company will pay for your training if you want it later. Don’t touch ‘Hogan Mining’ or any company that offers to find you work for money!!! Things you need to know Recruitment agencies won’t touch you without a HR license and two years experience. I am seeing jobs now only requiring one year or the really crappy jobs, which you WILL have to do which do not ask for any experience. The fact that less experience is being required is a good thing as it shows that industry demand is exceeding the supply of experienced staff and therefore they are willing to look at ‘Greenies’ (you and me) as long as they have some tickets. Why do they need so much experience? Simple, a mine costs millions a day, the last thing they want is an idiot with no idea coming and getting himself eaten by a machine and having to shut the whole thing down to salvage his mangled corpse. A guy died recently in a Mine in South Africa, I think, possibly run by Rio Tinto or BHP and they had to close the mine down for a day or so, they lost millions in production and then their share price went down as a result. Register with the big boys. The likes of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, FMG, Newcrest, HWE. Go to their sites and fill in all the forms, pain in the rear but has to be done. Mining co’s a re split into different areas, Mine operators, Drilling companies, Exploration and labour hire (there will be more but this’ll do for the mo). The mine operators are the big companies and as you have no experience you might want to target these first due to their high numbers of staff and high turn over of employees. Yes, there are plenty who think they want it but after a month or so they’ve had enough. This is another reason why they are sceptical of those with no experience. The exploration co’s are generally small groups of specialists and unless you have a very special qualification or skill you will find it difficult to get in with them. Drilling companies, again small and will generally require a high skill / knowledge level. Labour hire co’s such as ‘skilled’ and ‘integrated’ will have the low level jobs such as labourers, TA’s and Field Assistants, they will generally employ you for 3 months (probationary period) and then you might get taken on by the mine operator. FACT – you will have to do a crap job to start with – swallow your pride and stay positive – no-one likes a moaner, everyone is away from home and we all have problems. Don’t give them cause to label you a winging pom. Been there, done that!! After all that….the good news, once you’re in, you’re in!! If you can get a start all you have to do is work hard and keep your head down, don’t get involved in politics, talk to the people in the sorts of roles that you would like to do like operators (excavators, graders, dump trucks, cranes etc) and you can easily move into a more exciting role. This is Australia remember, they are not famed for their work ethic and innovation, the British are so if you do what you should do and you’ll shine in no time. So where am I working??? The answer is, I’m not. It’s taken me a year of messing around to get to the point where I’m actually employable. I want to get into Health and safety and training and have had to do some hefty courses, despite this I will still have to go in as a labourer / TA. The only difference now being that I know I can actually get a job and I know that after a year or so of crap I can use my qualifications to move on up. I’m applying for jobs at the mo as well as studying and after my parents have visited in Jan I should be ready to go. I have been working up North in construction too. Just for interest I have done the following courses; HR (Heavy rigid truck license) including learners permit - $1200 (sitting license mid Jan 2011) 4 wheel drive - drive and recover course - $200 Defensive driving course - $200 Forklift Course - $400 Senior First Aid - $200 Cert IV OHS (Health and Safety) $2500 Cert IV Training and Assessment $1200 If you’re looking to do any Cert I, II, II or IV courses don’t go with Seek Learning, I paid $2500 and found out that I could have got this for about $1500 if I went direct!! I hope this will save you some time and effort and if you need any other pointers please feel free to contact me. Good luck….you going to need it….and a lot of patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lee godsell Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 wow iam glad i have seen your post. i have got my visa to go to oz as a plumber sept this year but i wanted to drive a dumper truck in the mines its a little boys dreams even though i am 43. if i done all the courses you have said to do, how easy would it be to get into the mines and what kind of money can you get to start with? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Really good post, but it goes to show how different each state is; in QLD the easiest way in is through the drilling contractors as they have a massive turnover of offsiders. The qualifications you have to get are completely different (covered this on another thread so not going to repeat myself), and unless the companies are actually advertising there's no point trying to contact them as screening agencies actually do the first stage of recruiting and the mining houses don't actually see candidates until they've been whittled down. Mines love OHS, even though they don't come under the same legislation as other (say) construction worksites, proving that you know something about it is a big bonus in their mind. Plus having training and assessment, they like that too. Finally, the biggest difference between WA and QLD is that we don't want a HR licence - none of the boneheads I know has one, generally as they try and fill minority quotas the best way in is to be female and aboriginal (not a lot of help to most, but believe me, it makes a difference). So aim for the state you want, and research what quals you need for that state. They're trying to make competancies and inductions universal, but at the moment they're not and if you have a WA MARCSTA it's irrelevent in QLD and you'll have to get your generic passport and SGS anyway. If anyone wants to know about QLD (specifically Bowen Basin) mines drop me a PM. I've worked on most of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest karldyble Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Hi Lee, are you in Oz now? It might not be as easy as getting into dump truck driving straight away, you might have to take a sideways step, main thing is to get in, doesn't matter how because once you're in then you can take it from there, most co's want at least some mine experience before they'll let you on so doing anything on a mine site is a start. For example, I want to get into safety and training, i have the qualifications but as I had no mine site experience I've got to go in as a drillers assistant and get chatting to people and get the CV looking good before I can make the leap. This is very low level and hard hot work but it's a start. If you're in Oz now, have a HR (not needed for underground), in good health i.e. can pass a pretty in depth medical and have a police clearance I can tell a few companies that are taking people on with no experience right now. Let me know what your situ is. ta Karl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarvalentine Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 If anyone wants to know about QLD (specifically Bowen Basin) mines drop me a PM. I've worked on most of them. Thanks Eera for the opportunity. If I'm granted with the QLD SS, I will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcorners Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 That's fairly comprehensive. But there is another way. When I worked there from 2006-2008 in Kalgoorlie we hired any old person off the streets to be an underground sampler. We had hairdressers, pet shop workers, waitresses etc. We gave them all the training, including general Barrick induction, mine induction, underground induction, underground driving training, lots of H&S courses, fork lift tickets. They usually stayed a sampler (back then it was around $55k) for about 6-9 months then they all went on to drive the trucks in the mine (50 t Toro's). Then they were suddenly miners earning $70-80k. And we would have to start from scratch again training another sampler (I usually did all the training). We would only take on people who were living in town and ready to start. Mainly, we hired women as men always thought sampling was beneath them. They would usually only hire truck drivers if they had truck experience, but our samplers already knew the mine layout, comms systems etc, and ladies make excellent truck drivers. But I don't know why you'd want to drive a truck, I would have slit my wrists on the first shift! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keily Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 hey karl ...have u tried getting into the smaller minesites ?? my o/h did 6 months in boddington ....and then applied through an agency for working up north ....he is now in hope downs .....[newman ] .....and earning those big bucks u talk about lol ....it does take time and a lot of money to get all the right licences etc .....but he has found that its not what u know but who u know .....saying that he has been an excavator operator for nearly 30 yrs so does have a bit of savvy about him ....stick at it ...im sure summit will come along ....if u want any contacts feel free to pm him cheers mrs keily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lee godsell Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 i spoke to a plumber today in perth and he seems to think there is lots of work far north of perth in the mines even if you dont have a trade. Is this true as i want to work in the mines for a few years make some money then get out i am willing to train but cant seem to find out anything on the web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JamesP Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 i to am looking for work in the mines.I'm an ex-squaddy, I fly out to Oz in May, and i am a front end loader operator by trade. Got 4 years experience on various machines. Sent tons of e-mails to agencies and some mining companies.not heard anything yet, although i believe this is simply because i do not have my ozzy white card. Any info greatly appreciated James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amelie Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hi All, I found this via the CIPD Global website, which looks promising for those of you who want to get into the mining industry: Apprentices fast-tracked to mine jobs | News.com.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Robbi Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi All, I found this via the CIPD Global website, which looks promising for those of you who want to get into the mining industry: Apprentices fast-tracked to mine jobs | News.com.au hello amelie, thats very positive info, i wonder when this comes into effect and when the apprentice positions will be post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattC Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Interesting post about the mines. I worked for six months in WA DIDO (Drive in and Out) 5 hours North of Perth, beautiful drive. My experience though is it's not what you know, but who you know. Can't comment on other states, but found that was very much the case in WA. I went in as an Engineer, but wish I had truck licences etc. Be warned it's great money, but I found it very hard going. Particulalry doing 3 weeks on and 1 off. Without the money I saved working in the mines I'd be back in the UK by now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarvalentine Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Interesting post about the mines. I worked for six months in WA DIDO (Drive in and Out) 5 hours North of Perth, beautiful drive. My experience though is it's not what you know, but who you know. Can't comment on other states, but found that was very much the case in WA. I went in as an Engineer, but wish I had truck licences etc. Be warned it's great money, but I found it very hard going. Particulalry doing 3 weeks on and 1 off. Without the money I saved working in the mines I'd be back in the UK by now!! Hi Matt, I am a Mechanical Engineer and currently waiting for my 475 visa. I am also considering working in mining an interesting option when there. I see that you have experience with this stuff and it would help me a lot in my gathering info asap process. May I bother you with a PM? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dannylatics Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hi Matt, I am a Mechanical Engineer and currently waiting for my 475 visa. I am also considering working in mining an interesting option when there. I see that you have experience with this stuff and it would help me a lot in my gathering info asap process. May I bother you with a PM? Thanks Im in the same boat mate, im a Mechanical Engineer/Fitter looking to work in the mines and Im very interested by the apprenticeship scheme being offered. Any info you find Id appreciate if you could pass it on in this thread Cheers lads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest louise31 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Hi I am trying to get into the mining industry I have my HR license but no experience in oz would I be able to give you a ring for a chat and pick your brains cheers Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kelly brian Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 read your message karl its great im looking to move to perth from scotland next year im a excavator operator with ten years experience in house building and civils do you think this would make it less hassle to get in to the mines or will it be just as hard any info would be much appreciated .. brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Hey karl, my bf is the same exact as you, 10years. Unless you can find a sponsor or your gf or wife has a job that gets you into oz then it'll be hard. Thats me assuming your not already in oz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark 1234 Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Hi, Take a look at the following link. At the bottom you can download some invaluable PDFs. How to get started in the mines, salaries compared throughout the country, lists of employers etc. This is not agency or advertising-based it's good honest advice. http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/the-inside-guide Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petemal Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Hi Karldyble Great and interesting thread mate. I am currently a prison officer here in the U.K and have been trying to get to OZ for a long time however they are not recruting from the U.K so I looked into the mining industry and unsure how to get into this field. Do I look at security or the labouring/driving side. I have prevosly held a fork lift, HGV2 license & caterpilla licence, but I have not used these for over 10 years so I guess they would be Obsolete now. I am now 40 and not getting any younger. I was thinking about emailing the mining companies to ask if they would sponsor me, would this be a good ides or not? Your help/advice/info would be greatly appreciated. Petemal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petemal Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Hi Karldyble Great and interesting thread mate. I am currently a prison officer here in the U.K and have been trying to get to OZ for a long time however they are not recruting from the U.K so I looked into the mining industry and unsure how to get into this field. Do I look at security or the labouring/driving side. I have prevosly held a fork lift, HGV2 license & caterpilla licence, but I have not used these for over 10 years so I guess they would be Obsolete now. I am now 40 and not getting any younger. I was thinking about emailing the mining companies to ask if they would sponsor me, would this be a good ides or not? Your help/advice/info would be greatly appreciated. Petemal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lukeA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Anybody got any useful contacts i currently work in the uk and have 4 1/2 years mining experience and am looking for sponsorship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gards67 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Hi there My wife is in the process of applying for a skilled visa, she's a nurse, it's early days yet but hopefully it will all go through ok in the next 12 months or so. I'll have to look at a complete career change, as I am a senior fire officer in the UK and unfortunately there's no demand for that over in Australia. I do have an MBA, and a NEBOSH H&S Certificate, along with Quality Mgt and Project Mgt quals and operational experience through the fire service, I'm also very prepared to carry out hard manual work. I was wondering what your thoughts are about how I could break into the mining industry, possibly health & safety, and if so what would you recommend? I have seen that the pre-requisites seem to be the IV OHS course and the Training & Assessment course that you have completed, or the Diploma? Would it be worth me obtaining those qualifications over here prior to leaving if I could? Any ideas would be welcome - thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioMarina Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) hey karl ...have u tried getting into the smaller minesites ?? my o/h did 6 months in boddington ....and then applied through an agency for working up north ....he is now in hope downs .....[newman ] .....and earning those big bucks u talk about lol ....it does take time and a lot of money to get all the right licences etc .....but he has found that its not what u know but who u know .....saying that he has been an excavator operator for nearly 30 yrs so does have a bit of savvy about him ....stick at it ...im sure summit will come along ....if u want any contacts feel free to pm him cheers mrs keily Thanks Rio Edited June 6, 2013 by RioMarina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Some general advice. I work in mining and a few things people need to consider. There are no shortages of unskilled staff for mining. We get bag loads of applications for entry level roles. That includes truck drivers which we consider entry level. Be aware that there is not big money at this level. For example we start underground truckies on $75k for a week of nights, then a week of days and then 6 days off. You may be stuck doing this for a long time (years). Pit truckies get a bit more, but that is the single most boring job on the planet. It's not unusual for people to last one swing! Do think about how you will cope working away from family. There is good reason why mental illness is very prevalent in the industry. If anyone has specific questions feel free to email me at cnellist@anglogolashanti.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Some general advice. I work in mining and a few things people need to consider. There are no shortages of unskilled staff for mining. We get bag loads of applications for entry level roles. That includes truck drivers which we consider entry level. Be aware that there is not big money at this level. For example we start underground truckies on $75k for a week of nights, then a week of days and then 6 days off. You may be stuck doing this for a long time (years). Pit truckies get a bit more, but that is the single most boring job on the planet. It's not unusual for people to last one swing! Do think about how you will cope working away from family. There is good reason why mental illness is very prevalent in the industry. If anyone has specific questions feel free to email me at cnellist@anglogolashanti.com That is my understanding. What I don't understand is why the West Australian Government wanted to import over 100,000 workers,unskilled to various levels of skill into this state. Thankfully the Federal Government seemed to put obsticles in the way of them getting visas much to the disquiet of the West Australian State Government. They were going to be on short term visas but where are these jobs? Why is it so difficult for locals to get so claimed positions? This does appear to have been conducted with limited publicity also. Edited March 26, 2012 by flag of convenience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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