Skills shortages require short-term response and long-term strategy
Consistent with the experience of many other industry sectors, the South Australian resources sector faces looming workforce and skills shortages.
The global pandemic and its restriction on international movement of workers, combined with the resources sector about to enter a cyclical upswing means that the demand for skilled labour in South Australia has become acute.
This is further compounded by the massive pipeline of infrastructure projects in Western Australia and the eastern States, leaving South Australia further vulnerable to labour movement.
With South Australia’s employment rate trending to historically low levels, the local labour force is effectively ‘tapped out’. While the resources sector has traditionally relied on high wages and sign on bonuses to secure workers, this negatively impacts other parts of the economy and brings with it inflationary pressure.
The workforce and skills shortage presents both immediate and longer-term problems and the pandemic has highlighted the need for deeper strategic thinking about how we can better align education and skills training with industry needs.
In response to member concerns about labour supply, the South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) commissioned reporting in late 2021 to quantify workforce requirements for the South Australian resources sector.
Based on a combination of projects currently under construction, new projects reaching final investment decision and a consistent demand for shutdown and maintenance workers, the headline figures from this work revealed:
The skills shortage is already here and mitigating its impacts will prove challenging, however, SACOME suggests a range of strategies, including:
One of SACOME’s key Pre-Election calls is for the urgent development of a ‘South Australian Future Workforce & Skills Framework’ that maps requirements across key industry sectors.
This speaks to the longer-term strategic planning required to build labour market resilience across the South Australian economy.
Strategic mapping of industry sector requirements will facilitate greater alignment of cross-sector workforce needs and the training and education measures to meet them. The South Australian Government’s nine key ‘Growth State’ sectors provide a useful strategic frame in this regard.
Such planning wlll also assist to better anticipate the ebb and flow of industry cycles, facilitating worker movement to new sectors in periods of downturn and better equip workers with skills and training necessary for transition.
It will also help to identify where common skillsets exist across different sectors to better tailor education and training offerings.
SACOME acknowledges that the Department for Industry & Skills is embarking on strategic planning work and is actively consulting with industry sectors to inform its efforts. This approach is consistent with the spirt of SACOME’s Pre-Election call and we welcome the opportunity for continued collaboration.
While the pandemic has catalysed the skills shortage problem, it has also highlighted the need for strategic, long-term planning around workforce and skills.
Economic growth in South Australia cannot occur without an appropriately skilled workforce, demanding that both immediate and future requirements are part of an ongoing dialogue between government and industry.
View SACOME’s Media Release on Workforce & Skills here.
SACOME’s Resources Sector 2022 Pre-Election Priorities document is available here.
View SACOME’s Resources Sector 2022 Election dedicated webpage here.
Consistent with the experience of many other industry sectors, the South Australian resources sector faces looming workforce and skills shortages.
The global pandemic and its restriction on international movement of workers, combined with the resources sector about to enter a cyclical upswing means that the demand for skilled labour in South Australia has become acute.
This is further compounded by the massive pipeline of infrastructure projects in Western Australia and the eastern States, leaving South Australia further vulnerable to labour movement.
With South Australia’s employment rate trending to historically low levels, the local labour force is effectively ‘tapped out’. While the resources sector has traditionally relied on high wages and sign on bonuses to secure workers, this negatively impacts other parts of the economy and brings with it inflationary pressure.
The workforce and skills shortage presents both immediate and longer-term problems and the pandemic has highlighted the need for deeper strategic thinking about how we can better align education and skills training with industry needs.
In response to member concerns about labour supply, the South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) commissioned reporting in late 2021 to quantify workforce requirements for the South Australian resources sector.
Based on a combination of projects currently under construction, new projects reaching final investment decision and a consistent demand for shutdown and maintenance workers, the headline figures from this work revealed:
- · Requirement for an additional 8,000 workers between Q3 2021 and Q3 2023.
- · A peak shortage of 5,100 resources sector workers in Q3 2023.
The skills shortage is already here and mitigating its impacts will prove challenging, however, SACOME suggests a range of strategies, including:
- Quality labour market data to allow comprehensive identification, understanding and quantification of key industry sector requirements. Reliance on lag indicators like job ads are unlikely to reflect labour market dynamics, nor to proactively identify likely skills gaps for strategic planning purposes.
- Training of Managers and Supervisors, recognising that workforce shortages result in the promotion of technically competent workers who may lack managerial skills. Ensuring that managers and supervisors receive training in ‘soft skills’ such as people management, delegation, administration, budgeting and reporting will help to mitigate negative productivity impacts across entire teams of workers.
- Targeted Interstate Attraction and Recruitment Campaigns to attract workers in key occupations and skills groups to South Australia. This could be a focus on attracting operations workers to relocate to South Australia on a permanent basis; or establishing attractive FIFO paths for transient workforces undertaking construction, maintenance and shutdowns.
- Targeted Training Programs including ‘microcredentials’, adult and accelerated apprenticeships for workers with relevant prior experience. This is particularly effective in semi-skilled occupations which lend themselves to short term training and upskilling programs.
One of SACOME’s key Pre-Election calls is for the urgent development of a ‘South Australian Future Workforce & Skills Framework’ that maps requirements across key industry sectors.
This speaks to the longer-term strategic planning required to build labour market resilience across the South Australian economy.
Strategic mapping of industry sector requirements will facilitate greater alignment of cross-sector workforce needs and the training and education measures to meet them. The South Australian Government’s nine key ‘Growth State’ sectors provide a useful strategic frame in this regard.
Such planning wlll also assist to better anticipate the ebb and flow of industry cycles, facilitating worker movement to new sectors in periods of downturn and better equip workers with skills and training necessary for transition.
It will also help to identify where common skillsets exist across different sectors to better tailor education and training offerings.
SACOME acknowledges that the Department for Industry & Skills is embarking on strategic planning work and is actively consulting with industry sectors to inform its efforts. This approach is consistent with the spirt of SACOME’s Pre-Election call and we welcome the opportunity for continued collaboration.
While the pandemic has catalysed the skills shortage problem, it has also highlighted the need for strategic, long-term planning around workforce and skills.
Economic growth in South Australia cannot occur without an appropriately skilled workforce, demanding that both immediate and future requirements are part of an ongoing dialogue between government and industry.
View SACOME’s Media Release on Workforce & Skills here.
SACOME’s Resources Sector 2022 Pre-Election Priorities document is available here.
View SACOME’s Resources Sector 2022 Election dedicated webpage here.