With the mining boom in Western Australia seen to sustain the economic growth of the country for decades, mining companies are need thousands of workers to fill a growing workforce gap.

At present, Australia needs 20,000 workers to help build and work at new projects which are mostly found in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

In Western Australia alone, 55 major resource and energy projects are being planned.

BHP Billiton had implied it is especially encouraging displaced manufacturing and forestry workers from Tasmania as they hunt for machinery operators, electricians and builders, among others, Mercury News said.

"Our mining industry is fairly buoyant at the moment and it seems people are prepared to earn a little less to stay here with their families," West Coast Mayor Darryl Gerrity said.

"That is a good thing. Life is hard on those who go away and the families left behind, and if you lose a worker to the mainland, it can be extremely difficult to get them, and their skills, back here."

But Tasmanian recruitment agency Searson Buck said tradespeople, such as electricians and carpenters, were already leaving for Queensland to help with post-flood rebuilding, and even vmoreso since jobs in Tasmania had dried up.

Global miner BHP Billiton needs to boost its workforce at its Olympic Dam copper, uranium, gold and silver mine in South Australia by about 1,400.