More skilled workers needed for Queensland’s expanding LNG and CSG sectors
A new report maintains that Queensland could suffer from skilled workers shortage mainly due to insufficient supply and fierce competitions offered by other mining projects across Australia and around the world.
Hard hit would be the burgeoning coal seam gas (CSG) industry in the state and according to the report published by Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) and Energy Skills Queensland, up to 92000 workers would be required by the ongoing four coal seam gas projects in the region by Shell, Origin, Santos and BG Group.
Also on a long-term basis, a total of 18000 employees would be recruited as full-time workers with emphasis on premium occupations such as welders, pipe fitters, construction workers, electrical and instrumentation.
The new study also underscored the growing concerns that Queensland's existing workforce is quickly advancing in age yet the retention rates of apprenticeship have been alarmingly low, thus leaving a wider void for possible replacement on workers nearing retirement age.
Energy Skills Queensland spokesman Glenn Porter told AAP that the mining sector is poised to raid the ranks of the construction industry to fill up the shortages seen in the resources industry as he expressed hope that the workforce needed should be boosted enough by 2013.
Mr Porter said that some excess skills from the construction sector could possibly be fished out and enticed to transfer to the mining sector, to work specifically on the emerging segment of coal seam gas explorations.
Joint efforts have been undertaken by the state government and the private sector to address and cushion the impacts of the projected skills shortages, with Queensland authorities earmarking $10 million as training funds for future workers while CSQ tossed its share of $5 million for a similar program.
The initiative so far has attracted some 2000 possible workers for deployment on Queensland's liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and Mr Porter assured that the registrants would be immediately dispatched into training.
On its part, the state government stressed that it is doing its share to support Queensland's resources industry as Minister for Training Geoff Wilson emphasised that "developing a workforce to build the infrastructure needed for the emerging CSG/LNG sector involves the combined efforts of the energy and construction industries, government and training providers."