New AusIMM research shows the role the mining sector plays to harness and develop STEM talent

The resources sector makes a vital contribution as the anchor for Australia’s science, research and industrial base. As the sector undergoes a structural evolution to capture a greater share of the minerals, materials and manufacturing value chain, new research commissioned by AusIMM outlines the workforce demands, demographics and mobility trends for industry.

The new research, conducted by Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre (BCEC), demonstrates how our sector can lift Australia’s broader science and industrial capability by developing talent and building a workforce with expertise across a range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, with participation from across our community.

Engaging a breadth of STEM and other professional talent will allow our sector to extend its position as a trusted global supplier of minerals, materials and mining expertise. This is about more than a benefit to industry; it is about contributing to a national endeavour that strengthens key relationships, builds sovereign capability and underwrites Australia’s place in a changing world.

Members can access the full report here and key findings brief here.

Summary of key findings

The strongest growth in the mining workforce will be at the professional level, with growth in disciplines such as geology, mining engineering and metallurgy expected to be as high as 21.4 per cent over the next decade.

Female graduates and professionals and skilled migrants represent the greatest sources of future technical and leadership talent. Many of the STEM fields we need to bring into our sector also have the poorest student completion and graduate skills utilisation outcomes, as well as the highest participation of female, culturally and linguistically diverse and other underrepresented groups.

Resources offer some of the highest wage premia for training and education of any sector within our economy. A resources professional with a trade qualification can expect a 12 per cent salary boost (compared to a 2 per cent average across the national workforce), a diploma delivers a 14 per cent boost (compared to a 6 per cent average), an undergraduate degree offers a 32 per cent premium and a master's degree delivers a remarkable 58 per cent salary uplift (compared to a 30 per cent average).

Early career experience programs for students and early professionals, alongside new degree and course models, are effective means of raising awareness and interest in resources careers. This includes programs like the Minerals Industry Experience Program (delivered by MCA in partnership with AusIMM and industry), as well as Associate and Vocational degrees being trialled by Australian universities.

Traditional mining disciplines will be joined by specialists in data analytics, automation, decarbonisation and social and environmental performance – these will become core competencies for everyone working in our industry.

It’s worth considering some of the implications of these findings.

1) The resources sector has an important role to play as an incubator for professional, scientific and industrial capability across a range of STEM disciplines.

Many of the STEM degrees with the lowest completion and skills utilisation rates are in fields where graduates could find roles in resources, with the right upskilling and cross-skilling support.

By ensuring STEM graduates move into qualification-relevant careers, the sector not only meets its own capability gap but helps to develop STEM talent that can be utilised across the broader economy.

Furthermore, STEM programs with poorer completion and utilisation rates often have a high proportion of female, culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolments.

There is also a substantial opportunity for the sector to enhance mobility between industry, research and government roles in and around the sector. The same goes for supporting professionals to move across mining and mining-related industries including energy, defence, advanced manufacturing and a range of utilities fields.

Supporting professionals to move across mining and related industries could be the answer to our skills dilemma, not the problem. Rather than viewing this cross-sector mobility as a risk for industry, we need to make the most of the opportunity to develop professionals, share capability and benefit from the know-how of other industries.

2) While major skills shortages loom, evidence suggests a clear suite of actions to attract, retain and develop future talent.

One priority is to arrest declining higher education completion rates – this is about supporting students to study regionally, connecting students to our sector through work experience programs, and providing ongoing professional development for new professionals.

Engaging skilled professionals through effective bridging programs, including to access expertise in other industries and support professionals to develop vital niche skillsets in fields including pyrometallurgy and materials processing, will be essential.

We also need to develop sustainable business and curriculum models for the degree programs on which our industry depends. This is the key message when it comes to pathways for key mining engineering, geology, metallurgy and other specialist disciplines (at both undergraduate and postgraduate).

3) To attract, develop and retain talent, we need to better understand the career mobility and lived experience of professionals working across the mining value chain.

As our sector evolves, an evidence gap remains about the mobility of ‘established’ and mid-career professionals in our sector. This ‘missing middle’ extends from specialist technical professionals through to leaders and managers working across the broad minerals value chain.

Preliminary findings suggest job satisfaction and industry retention is shaped by role quality, training access, skills recognition and perceived long-term career pathways. Pay is an important factor, but not decisive. At the same time, qualitative analysis indicates job security, work design factors (especially for on-site roles) and cultural barriers for underrepresented cohorts including female and culturally and linguistically diverse professionals persist as key challenges for our sector.

AusIMM will be engaging industry, higher education and government partners on the findings and next steps to follow from this research as part of our Policy Forum initiative.

To learn more about our broader research, advocacy and engagement programs, contact policy@ausimm.com.