North Metropolitan TAFE (NMTAFE) amalgamated into one college in 2016 to better prepare the mining workforce of tomorrow and support mining operations.
Offering courses focused on surveying, surface extraction and resource processing, and laboratory operation, together with South Metropolitan TAFE, they collectively provide education pathways to the resources industry.
North Metropolitan TAFE Director, Science, Resources and Greenskills Paula Dewhurst shared the common pathways to get into mining at NMTAFE.
“In institutional delivery, the applicant applies through TAFE admissions and can put in up to four preferences. For anyone who wants to come and study with us in the hope of going into the mining industry, the most common entry level courses are the Certificate III in Mining Exploration, Certificate III in Laboratory Skills, Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques, Certificate III in Surveying and Spatial Information Services and Certificate IV in Surveying,” Ms Dewhurst said.
“The other way you can get NMTAFE to support you in your training is if you get recruited by a mining company and they sign you up for a specific traineeship,” she added.
New courses in technology are in demand today, particularly in Drones and Photogrammetric units, and Applied Data Analysis Skillsets, with popular courses including the Applied Data Analysis Skillset, Robotics Control Systems Introduction Skill Set and Certificate IV Integrated Technologies (Robotics Control Systems). The Cybersecurity courses and the Certificate III in Information Technology and Diploma of Information Technology (Advanced Programming) for software development are also very popular.
Ms Dewhurst said TAFE qualifications are a good option for further education because a lot of the courses only run for six or 12 months, which provides a cost-effective qualification with good job outcomes.
“Because most of the entry level courses take six months to complete, within that time you’ll know whether that’s something you’ll be interested in and want to keep studying and if that one isn’t, there will be another pathway or another course that might suit you better,” said Ms Dewhurst.
“At the moment four of our entry level qualifications into those mining positions are half-price and will be until 2025 because there is a commitment to grow the numbers in what is currently being called priority areas to address the skills shortage,” Ms Dewhurst said.
Courses are offered online, face-to-face, or as work-based training for companies that can provide the equipment and facilities.
North Metropolitan TAFE Acting Portfolio Director, Science, Resources and Greenskills Portfolio Claudia Baker cited some examples of their ongoing relationships with gold mining companies.
“In the last two to three years, we’ve had lecturers going up to Kalgoorlie six times a semester to deliver surveyors training for companies such as Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining. We’ve also had a long-standing relationship with AngloGold Ashanti Australia, training their operations teams in Resource Processing and Laboratory Operations, at Certificate II and III level.
“Periodically, I also conduct professionals development training on site, an example being a one-day session covering the principles of processing for geologists so that they understand what processing is about when they work with the processing teams,” said Ms Baker.
Any individual who wants a certain qualification who is already working in the industry can also approach NMTAFE. NMTAFE first assesses an individual’s current role, workplace and experience and will then suggest and support them through a particular program.
NMTAFE can also tailor training for mining companies. A recent example has been an induction program for new apprentices in areas including electrical, communications and the use of hand tools prior to sending the apprentices to mine sites.
NMTAFE conducts training for onsite process technicians looking to do Certificate II or Certificate III in Resources Processing as work-based students. This course is completed in the students’ own time on a remote basis with assessments conducted onsite at the students’ workplace.
As mining operations require a diverse range of roles, there are also some companies who recruit for the mining industry in support services across hospitality and facilities.
In some cases, NMTAFE works with mining contracting companies across common areas such as camp management, hospitality, and in water operations.
Take the Gold Jobs Quiz now to discover what roles would suit you from the variety of positions available in Australia’s gold industry and visit our Job Profiles on the Gold Jobs website to get an understanding of the key responsibilities, specialisations, work environments, prerequisites, and current vacancies for a range of roles.
Gold Industry Group members featured on Gold Jobs include AngloGold Ashanti Australia Limited, Evolution Mining, Gold Fields, Gold Road Resources, Kirkland Lake Gold, Northern Star Resources Limited, Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd, Ramelius Resources Limited, Regis Resources Limited, St Barbara Limited, Saturn Metals Limited, Pallion, The Perth Mint, SMS Mining Services, Swick Mining Services and Westgold Resources Limited.