The survey of more than 1000 Australian professionals found that 65% of respondents would be willing to work on a remote mining site or in a fly-in, fly-out capacity if the money was right.

A further 62% believed high wages in the sector were deserved and proportionate.

The Australia-wide research was conducted by recruitment consultancy Robert Walters and covered candidates working in accounting and finance, banking, human resources, IT, legal, sales, marketing, secretarial, business support and supply chain.

The consultancy recruits for the resources sector for mining, engineering, oil and gas, but for this particular survey, those already working in the industry were not approached.

Manager of mining recruitment Adam Harris said the survey also found that 81% of the respondents felt more comfortable about the strength of the Australian economy due to a strong resources sector.

“With all the press surrounding the skills shortage being experienced, it’s good to know so many people are open to a career change and we encourage anyone with transferable skills to look into a role in mining and benefit more directly from the boom,” he said.

This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication MiningNews.net.