According to officials at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal entry level mining jobs are now regularly attracting more than 400 applicants.

While the Queensland site is one of many locations suffering from the skills shortage, the company said trades positions and system maintainer jobs were filling quickly.

DBCT senior public relations advisor Ms Sharon Johnston said the company found suitable applicants quite easily because of the high amount of applications. But she said workers for specialised jobs like engineering were much harder to come by.

She said control systems engineers, maintenance engineers, and maintenance planners were also in high demand.

Drake International national audit manager Ms Lyndall Patterson previously told Australian Mining applicants without mining experience found it difficult to secure a job in the industry.

She said “Mining is a very technical and specialised profession. She added that if somebody doesn’t have the right background and skills it’s going to be very hard for them to find a job.”

She also said “It takes a long time and a lot of money to train people for these roles so if employers have the option they are going to take an experienced person.”

(Sourced from www.miningaustralia.com.au)