# Looking for the truth about the labor shortages



## flaco06man (Dec 17, 2011)

Hello all,

I would really appreciate a truthful answer.

I am an american citizen living and working in the U.S..

I read about a month ago that one mining company lost 1.2 billion halfway through 2011 because of labor shortages.

I have 25+ years experience and would be willing to FIFO.

I have been applying and applying with no results.

Does anyone know the truth?...

Many Thanks


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## Boboa (Mar 24, 2009)

There is a large shortage. However if you are applying from Outside aus there is little chance you'll get a job. Unless you are in very highly skilled sector engineering/ demolition / expert fields. For manual non skilled jobs there are always a lot of people applying while on visit here from neighboring countries NZ/ China etc
One way of getting jobs outside Aus is to attend Australia job fairs overseas. These mainly happen in Europe and RSA. But I know a number of Americans who got jobs thru them, one happened in Atlanta and Chicago a while ago.


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## flaco06man (Dec 17, 2011)

Appreciate that...That was kinda the feeling I was getting.

Still it kind of amazes me that I have all these years of experience and no reply to my applications. The only reason I say that is because of the massive so called profit that the mining companies are losing each year. I suppose that is something they are prepared to except.

Again I appreciate your input. I may look for one of those job fairs you mentioned.


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## Boboa (Mar 24, 2009)

flaco06man said:


> Appreciate that...That was kinda the feeling I was getting.
> 
> Still it kind of amazes me that I have all these years of experience and no reply to my applications. The only reason I say that is because of the massive so called profit that the mining companies are losing each year. I suppose that is something they are prepared to except.
> 
> Again I appreciate your input. I may look for one of those job fairs you mentioned.


I'm not sure what you mean by profit losses. Mining companies are very profitable here, EBIT in billions of dollars every year.


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## John...WW (Nov 27, 2011)

I agree with above, however would also add that mining positions are generally better paid across the board. Hence they attract a lot of people from other sectors such as construction. This then creates a shortage in those sectors. In my experience gaining positions in the mining sector is a lot more competitive than most people think.

I interviewed a mining executive the other day whose primary role was to manipulate the ratio between permanent workers and labour hire staff. The larger the ratio the more threatened the permanent workers were and hence the more productive they were. The mine then chose the best workers from the labour hire group. I believe this model will not help people applying from overseas.

John


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