Hays Resources & Mining - October 2007

Hotspots

The upswing in exploration spending and activity has seen the job market for exploration and project geologists increase significantly. This has created a very fast-paced market for any candidate with geological skills. Mine development and planning engineers are also in high demand as large and small projects commence or enter production phases.

The construction of infrastructure in and around various mine sites has created a hotspot for design and project engineers and estimators.

The coming quarter

Recruitment is the 'buzz' word of the resources and mining market, with new positions created daily in some states. South Australia has become particularly active of late, with contract and permanent vacancies expected to be high for the foreseeable future.

Executive recruitment

Like the rest of the market, executive recruitment is incredibly active.

An interesting trend is occurring in South Australia. Due to the infancy of the state's market, many larger EPCM and mining houses have traditionally run operations from interstate. However this is now changing and some executive teams are now based out of the state, which is heating the executive recruitment market, particularly at the $200,000 and above level.

Salaries

Resources and mining specialists have been one of the country's major salary winners over the past 12 months, with our recent Hays Salary Survey finding 32% of the sector's employers increased salaries above 6%. Some of the major winners include metalliferous geology specialists, metalliferous mining engineering and mobile plant underground specialists. Fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) roles continue to offer larger salaries than residential mine sites, and so candidates are still required to choose between lifestyle and financial benefits.

While salaries have increased steadily over the past 12 months, employers are recognising there is a limit to how much they can compete based purely on dollars. Many employers provide non-cash benefits with even time rosters becoming more frequent.

The Hays Salary Survey is available at www.hays.com.au/salary