While the mining boom is raging, Aboriginal Australians in remote areas seem to be missing out on a lot of the benefits, even though some of these massive mining operations are taking place on their doorstep.
Discussion with key industry players revealed the most significant contribution they considered they could offer Indigenous communities was in the form of jobs, yet all were keenly aware of the many challenges such a commitment presented to both industry and the Indigenous community.
While mining companies snap up those workers with the necessary skills and training, many local Aborigines are being excluded because of a shortfall in skills and education.
WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy executive officer of Indigenous affairs Cara Babb told Australia’s Mining Monthly that feedback from companies indicated work readiness issues were the biggest challenge to boosting Indigenous employee numbers.
Tracker Tilmouth, former head of the Central Land Council and now community relations manager with Darwin-based Compass Resources, said although the Aboriginal community had many educational gaps to overcome, the message for mining companies was clear.
“There’s a labour market resource on your doorstep that with a little bit of training and a little bit of education would be work ready.”
Citing examples at Zinifex’s Century mine in northern Queensland and the Argyle diamond mine in WA’s Kimberley region, Tilmouth said both industry and the Aboriginal community had much to gain from each other, providing the shortfall in Indigenous education and training was addressed.
“[Mines need to say] ‘let’s incorporate [Aboriginal people] within our normal operations’,” Tilmouth said. “Aboriginal people have been able to rise to the challenge and a lot of them have jobs now at Century and at Argyle.”
According to the Minerals Council of Australia the resources industry is the largest private sector employer of Indigenous people with around 5% of the mining industry’s direct workforce identified as Aboriginal. BHP Billiton estimates 8% of its Australian workforce is Aboriginal and said 20% of its workforce at the company’s GEMCO mine on Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory is Indigenous.
While industry agreed there had been success in attracting and retaining local Aboriginal employees, there was also clear consensus that many Aboriginal people were up against significant barriers to employment within the resources sector. With more than 60% of minerals operations in Australia operating in areas with significant Indigenous populations, this gives greater weight to the case that all people should share in the socio-economic benefits of the mining boom.
Both Rio Tinto and BHP have specific employment programs for the Aboriginal community. The mining giants, along with other companies including Xstrata, Woodside and Thiess, are involved in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)-funded National Indigenous Cadetship project that involves paid vacation work and government grants towards educational costs.
A BHP spokeswoman said the company ran targeted recruitment programs, pre-vocational training, on-the-job training, and cross-cultural awareness training for the general workforce to provide a work environment that was more conducive to Indigenous employees.
“[The push for Indigenous participation in mining] has provided tangible and direct benefits not only to the employees but also their families and communities,” she said.
Both Rio and BHP agree the biggest issue to be tackled among potential Aboriginal recruits is meeting the basic entry-level standards, including numeracy and literacy. In addition, industry recognised many Indigenous people faced issues associated with coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and dysfunctional communities, as well as cultural challenges.
While there is a national push for Indigenous mining recruits, a lot of the activity is coming out of WA’s booming Pilbara region.
In partnership with the Government, community and private sector employers, Fortescue Metals Group runs the Vocational Training and Employment Centre program (VTEC), jointly funded by DEWR and Fortescue. The program involves providing the appropriate training and education for its Aboriginal participants along with a guaranteed offer of employment for successful trainees.
Combining support and supervision with a high expectation of trainees the basic concept of the program is simple: the miner identifies a job vacancy and a willing Aboriginal applicant, provides appropriate training and places the individual in the job. Potential trainees are identified through government job network agencies and Community Development Employment Projects programs.
Fortescue native land access manager Blair McGlew said the VTEC program also involved liaising with Aboriginal mentors and support workers to provide an external link and ensure issues were dealt with as they arose.
“The challenges are not unique to Fortescue,” he said. “They are common across the Pilbara and [the rest of] Australia and you just have to work really hard at it.”
Far from being a quick-fix solution, VTEC emerged out of a 12-month consultation process and is still very much in its infancy. The program recently secured employment for its first group of trainees, a small handful of “stop and go” traffic controllers. Meanwhile, another 30 Indigenous trainees are in the process of completing a track laying course and already have jobs lined up.
Private companies offer other avenues for training and skills development and, according to Trish McGinley of Mining Training Services, there are significant benefits to pre-vocational training in an off-site environment.
The company runs courses in mine operations such as dump truck and excavator operation, which are open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous candidates. McGinley said successful completion of the courses offered graduates excellent employment prospects. However, she said, because the course costs were prohibitive for many people, including Aboriginal people, the company had established a funding link with various government agencies.
McGinley told AMM that alongside the many non-Aboriginal trainees, MTS generally trained “about two or three” Indigenous people each week in mine operations courses.
Business development programs provide another avenue for employment opportunities for those Aboriginal people who do not want to be directly employed. Argyle, for example, which operates in an area of significant economic and social disadvantage, runs a program designed to help local Indigenous people establish their own businesses in areas such as earthmoving and waste management.
Indigenous company Ngarda Civil and Mining was established out of an independent South Hedland-based Aboriginal foundation. Starting out in 2001 as a six-person lawn mowing business, Ngarda has since grown to become a successful earthmoving contractor with around 270 employees, clients such as BHP, Woodside and Newcrest, and around “$200 million worth of work”
Ngarda executive director Barry Taylor told AMM the company was formed as a response to perceived negative industry perceptions of Aboriginal people. With a workforce that is around 50–85% Indigenous, Taylor said the response from commercial clients had been positive.
“Feedback is that we’re a very competitive contractor that adheres to all the safety requirements and our quality of work is very good,” he said.
In the Northern Territory, Tilmouth said greater Indigenous participation in the industry was still a “long way down the road” but the investment in training would deliver positive benefits.
Australia’s Mining Monthly
