The award, from the Australia Mines and Metals Association, recognises the creative and strategic efforts companies take to overcome workforce challenges and deliver good outcomes for communities and individuals in the resources sector.

Drawing on resident research, conducted in conjunction with Edith Cowan University, the ESS Village Life concept incorporates urban lifestyle and design elements to try and create remote communities where residents feel at home.
Given the stresses being experienced by fly-in fly-out workers any attempt to make site accommodation friendlier can only help.

ESS executive director – offshore and remote John Sheridan said the key was to grow social interaction and build communities.

“Healthy food, retail outlets, flexible quality accommodation and varied sport and recreation options all combine to foster social interaction and a thriving sense of community,” he said.

“Resident feedback has been very positive, supporting our clients’ workforce retention models.

“The concept is agile and adaptive and constantly evolving.

“With 40 years’ experience in the resources sector we recognise every site is different and offer a broad suite of effective options that can be tailored to the environment and scaled up or down according to size and scope.”

The Village Life concept has been rolled out to a number of sites in Western Australia and Queensland.

One of those sites is the Gateway Village in Port Hedland, which is home to up to 1200, many of them at the Roy Hill iron ore mine.

Entertainment and communications service provide Swift Networks Group won a contract to deploy elements of tits hospitality solution to Gateway Village.

That includes provision of Wi-Fi and internet services to 800 active rooms together with a 36-month support and services agreement.

Those services are to be expandable to another 400 rooms and there is good potential for Swift to provide higher-value entertainment services.

Swift Networks CEO Xavier Kris said the company had built a strong relationship with Hancock Prospecting, owner of the Roy Hill project, and with Compass through services it provided to it at a neighbouring facility.

“Our agreement with Compass at Gateway will leverage existing capacity Swift has available in Port Hedland,” Kris said.

 “We see this work reinforcing Swift Networks’ place at the forefront of remote entertainment and communication services in Australia.”