South Australian mining job opportunities on the rise

Mining job opportunities in South Australia are trending up according to a report from research body Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA).

RESA has produced a quarterly report entitled the RESA South Australia Mining and Resources Jobs Reports Vacancy Analysis for the past five years. The latest edition has reported a 44 per cent increase in mining and resources advertisements within South Australia from July 2017 to July 2018.

July 2018 saw 255 mining jobs posted statewide compared with 177 jobs in July 2017. While the number of advertised jobs has fluctuated slightly from month to month throughout 2018, reaching a peak of 288 in May, each month from January to July 2018 has ranked consistently higher than the equivalent month in 2017.

When job growth is considered over a two-year period from July 2016 (just 85 advertised jobs) to July 2018, growth stands at 300 per cent.

According to RESA’s report, “overall growth has been consistent over the past 24 months and continues a strong recovery from the downturn and the impact of economic drivers on the resources sector in SA.”

Broken down by job type, professional roles (predominantly for engineers) led the way in July at 39 per cent of jobs listed followed by trade roles such as fitters, diesel and auto electrical workers (34 per cent), operators (13 per cent) and technical roles (9 per cent). Entry-level positions made up 4 per cent, a slight increase on June figures.

The Adelaide metropolitan area represented over half of the advertised positions at 56 per cent, with Coober Pedy and Outback SA at 28 per cent, Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula at 12 per cent and other areas making up the remaining 4 per cent.