Reuters reported that chronic labor shortages in resource rich Western Australia could put mining projects at risk, as the state struggles to plug a shortfall of skilled workers set to balloon to 150,000 by 2017.
Mr Peter Collier, Western Australia's minister for training and workforce development, said that "I genuinely think that if you do not take drastic action to ensure that we address the labor force needs of Western Australia, some projects will be at risk."
Mr Collier was speaking at the start of an eight day drive in Britain and Ireland to promote job opportunities in Western Australia to skilled workers, from restaurant managers to mining engineers, hoping to escape straightened circumstances at home.
He said that "I'd like to think we will get there in terms of the mega projects, but there are a lot of medium (sized) projects as well, and also the labor shortages we are talking about transcend the entire community."
Mr Collier called for a more flexible approach to Australia's visa system from central government, including cutting red tape for areas in dire need of workers.
Mr Collier told Reuters that "When you have a resources boom it would be logical to think you'd have all the workers you need well, we don't."
He added that the state was also suffering from a crowding out effect, as workers in the south west moved north to the Pilbara or the Kimberley to cash in on the boom, leaving job openings across the board.
Mr Collier said that the work he and his delegation will do this week may focus on skilled workers, but the region also needs unskilled and semi skilled workers, like apprentices. He added that "We are going to need a robust, dynamic and versatile workforce. We are facing the prospect of being about 150,000 workers short, and that makes the situation parlous."
Western Australia alone has more than AUD 225 billion of resource and infrastructure projects planned, the state said, roughly half of that in mining mostly in iron ore and the remaining slice in natural gas. But the region, which makes up a third of the Australian land mass but is home to only 10% of its population, is well short of the workers it needs to feed the resources industry and to replace an ageing mining and construction workforce not to mention cater for other sectors growing alongside, from restaurants and hotels to hospitals and schools.
Major projects under consideration or already underway in Western Australia include expansions of BHP Billiton's and Rio Tinto's Western Australian iron ore operations. According to government estimates, the resources industry, riding a wave of high commodity prices, has roughly USD 400 billion in new projects on the drawing board in Australia and, along with the construction industry, will need an additional 260,000 workers over the next five years.
(Sourced from www.reuters.com)
