Migrants are an integral part of Australia’s workforce with nearly 25% of Australian residents being born overseas and 50% of the population having an overseas-born parent.
Australian-born workers represent the highest share of people employed in Tasmania (82%) and the lowest share in Western Australia (58%), according to the federal government’s latest Australian Labour Market for Migrants publication.
The report notes that the share of employed people born in other than main English-speaking countries (OTMESC) is highest in Victoria (31.9%), the ACT (29.6%), and New South Wales (28.8%).
Diversity has long been integral to Australia’s labour workforce — driving economic growth, addressing skills shortages, and enhancing workforce inclusivity. The Minerals Council of Australia reports the nation’s projected population will be 38 million by 2050 — meaning migration will contribute $1.6 trillion to the country’s GDP.
In an attempt to boost productivity, address skills shortages, and build stronger communities the Australian Government has recently undertaken a review of the migration system.
In mining state Western Australia, the recently returned Labor government’s $4.25 million Skilled Migrant Job Connect Program expanded to regional locations. These locations include the Kimberley, Pilbara, Mid West, and Great Southern regions.
The program, launched in 2023, includes a subsidy to support Western Australia-based skilled migrants to access financial support of up to $7,500, to gain employment in occupations commensurate with their formal overseas qualifications, skills, and experience.
In Western Australia, migrants account for 21.5% of the employed workforce.
With this in mind, a February research bulletin by the Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance (AUSMASA) investigates the role of migration and the alignment of the migration system towards the automotive and mining industries. AUSMASA is one of 10 Jobs and Skills Councils (JSC) funded by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).
According to AUSMASA, in the mining sector the proportion of migrant workers in each subdivision varies – metal ore mining (23%), exploration and other mining support services (25%), and oil and gas extraction (25%) have higher proportions of migrant workers, whereas coal mining (9%) and non-metallic mineral mining (11%) have lower proportions of migrant workers.
The proportion of migrant workers correlates with the need for workers with tertiary education in the sector. In both the coal mining and non-metallic mineral mining sectors, 15% of the workforces hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 24% across the entire mining industry workforce.
“The proportion of migrant workers correlates with the need for workers with tertiary education in the sector. In both the coal mining and non-metallic mineral mining sectors, 15% of the workforces hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 24% across the entire mining industry workforce,” AUSMASA reports.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Australian Census and Migrants, 2021, TableBuilder”, 2021; ‘Australian Census and Temporary Entrants, 2021’, 2021
Need for skilled workers
Australia’s mining sector – the cornerstone of the nation’s economy – contributes 15% towards its GDP and about 75% of exports, creating more than a million jobs. The sector plays a crucial role in employment, however behind the statistics of the economy’s backbone lies a workforce that is as diverse as it is essential.
Mining contributed $415 billion in export earnings during 2023-24, as reported by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources December 2024 Resources and Energy Quarterly.
The mining sector is among one of the most influential industries shaping Australian immigration policy. In 2021, the Australian Government added key mineral-related occupations to the now ceased Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List — a move hailed by the Minerals Council of Australia to attract skilled engineers and scientists.
As a result, more skilled migrants have entered the industry, highlighting the sector’s ongoing plea for their skills.
AUSMASA reveals the two most in-demand occupations in mining were metal fitters and machinists — increasing from 1,216 to 1,793 between 2016 and 2021 — as well as migrant mining engineers which increased from 1,019 to 1,575.
In five years, the amount of permanent skills migrants in mining engineering increased from 24% to 30%, while migrant production managers increased from 7% to 11%. On the lower proportions, migrant geologists, geophysicists and hydrogeologists grew by 1% to 19%.
Australia’s mining industry is seeking to address the challenges surrounding the sector’s skills shortages and competition for talent — and First Nations and migrant workers are playing a crucial role in closing that gap, while also helping to drive economic growth.
Australian Geoscience Council President Sandra Occhipinti says that while the industry has made strides, more still needs to be done to attract and retain talent. Occhipinti tells Mining.com.au the ongoing decline in student interest, particularly in earth science, is a significant challenge for the sector.
In recent years, fewer young Australians have opted for careers in geology and related fields, as universities have increasingly reduced their earth science faculties.
In fact, this news service has found that less than half of Australia’s 42 universities offered undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in geoscience — a trend that has only worsened over time.
First Nations filling the void
Despite these challenges in attracting and retaining talent in the industry, the mining sector has implemented steps in promoting diversity and inclusivity, with First Nations Australians and migrants playing a crucial role.
For example, Bravus Mining and Resources reports that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders represent 9.7% of all mining apprentices and trainees, which is considered higher than the all-industries average of 7.3%. In Western Australia alone, 22% of trainees and apprentices in the industry identify as Indigenous.
AUSMASA’s data underscores the mining industry’s reliance on skilled First Nations and migrants, as well as the ongoing challenges the sector faces in attracting and retaining talent.
Mining.com.au in February reported the mining and geoscience industries are grappling with an increasingly urgent question: ”Why are there so few students attracted to work in the mining sector and what can we do to change that?”
Despite mining’s increasing importance, fewer Australians are entering the sector or graduating in mining-related fields. As Mining.com.au previously reported, the Australian Geoscience Council Tertiary Education Profile uncovered that geoscience enrolments have dropped by 43% between 2013 and 2022.
Australia’s mining and METS sectors are also facing stiff competition for recruiting talent from neighbouring regions such as New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Southeast Asia. In May 2024, mining vacancies surged by nearly 30% compared to the pandemic period.
This year, local government councils and other organisations hosted more than 380 citizenship ceremonies as part of their Australia Day event programs. More than 20,600 people from over 150 countries were invited to attend one of these ceremonies. At the ceremonies, the newest citizens pledged their commitment to Australia and officially become Australians.
Those becoming citizens joined more than 6 million other Australians who have had their citizenship conferred since the first ceremony in 1949.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Australian Government, AUSMASA & IMARC
