Guest ecandrla Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hi All, I am a carpenter from the UK who has been here as a PR since January. I am currently working building transportable accommodation but would like to work in the mines either in my trade or a driller's offsider etc to get some money saved up. Does anybody have any good advice or contacts? I am considering getting my HR Licence, Senior First Aid, and maybe 4WD and see what comes up, then possibly I could target driving roles. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrumpy Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 looking forward to ssum good replies, as i want to know as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 There are plenty of drillers off siders roles advertised. However, be aware that going into the industry either offsiding or truck driving which is a common entry level job doesn't pay the sort of money you might think. For example a truckie doing 2:1 with a week of nights and a week of days would be looking at around $75-80k a year. A drillers off sider maybe a little more, though not by much. Have a look on seek and infomine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LADYJO Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 good luck with that one, my husband has applied to mining companies as a carpenter and got NOWHERE! we have just heard he may get on at the gorgon project? but when i made enquires he has to wait till he is in oz before applying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ecandrla Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Hi LadyJo, I did the same thing and tried to apply for jobs before I got here. I found that nobody wanted to talk to me while I was in the UK. Talking to locals I found out this is for a good reason. Alot of people enquire about jobs to companies and change their minds and don't even show up, and a few don't last very long before going back home. You really need to be here to secure a job unless you are in an field in big demand like mining geologists. Carpenters are not as in demand as you would like to believe in WA, there are not people "crying out" for carpenters. Just look on Gumtree Perth and look at the amount of ads with carpenters looking for work and you will see what I mean. However there are a reasonable amount of opportunities. I spoke to a carpenter in a new build house in the Capricorn Estate up in Yanchep and he said that he had to turn down 5 houses because he was so busy. But I never see residential site jobs advertised as I imagine these are snapped up by blokes like me walking on site looking for work. There are Carpenters Jobs advertised on Seek and in the Weekend West (The local paper) and I actually found the job I had on Gumtree. But the job I had the money was crap and I was working 10hr days with a 30min break for lunch and a 10min break in the afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LADYJO Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 thank you for info, everyone says theres loads of jobs paying high wages. im already having doubts but my hubby is determined to make it work, we have limited funds, so he will need job within 3 weeks . it sounds not so good! also i am told he will need to do test for a white card? any ideas what he will need to work on sites etc. thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Flying Englishman Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I'm also very interested in jobs withing the mining industry and am considered getting my HGV license before I leave the UK at the end of the year. Figured it would be a good way into the industry. For example a truckie doing 2:1 with a week of nights and a week of days would be looking at around $75-80k a year. verystormy - This is actually a pretty average starting pay packet considering it's entry level. Anyone know what's involved on the White Card test? Cheers, English Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Flying Englishman Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Just realised - From what I can tell, anyone with an HGV License here in the UK will need to apply for their HR License in Australia. It doesn't seem to matter whether you have the HGV (UK) license or not. Probably worth just doing the Australian HR license in that case (if you haven't already got your HGV). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 $75k though in Perth is not a lot of money. Also, please bear in mind that the industry has a turnover of staff of about 40% per year for good reason. There are a couple of big reports doing the rounds at the moment about FIFO. One out yesterday looking at health and that FIFO lifestyle is horrendous on health. It is famously bad for marriage. I get better rosters than mining staff being a geologist, but even for geologists the divorce rate is about 70%. There are pluses, but there are a lot of negatives. Make sure it is something you go into with eyes wide open. For example if you have children then a lot of FIFO wives find they can't work, so that means you have $75k between 2 of you. That would not service a mortgage on the cheapest house in the most rundown area of Perth. Incan count on the fingers of one hand the number of new staff that started the year I started at my last mine that were still in the industry 3 years later when I left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LADYJO Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 thanks for the info, we have thought it through about FIFO, my husband likes being at work and not home! and i like it that way too! so should be ok. as for money . he will need a pay packet about 100,000 per year which i noticed is offered on some mining sites for carpenters. we dont know what a worker needs on site . ie health and safety white card ETC. tools! any info would be helpful. thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Flying Englishman Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) $75k though in Perth is not a lot of money. Also, please bear in mind that the industry has a turnover of staff of about 40% per year for good reason. There are a couple of big reports doing the rounds at the moment about FIFO. One out yesterday looking at health and that FIFO lifestyle is horrendous on health. It is famously bad for marriage. I get better rosters than mining staff being a geologist, but even for geologists the divorce rate is about 70%. There are pluses, but there are a lot of negatives. Make sure it is something you go into with eyes wide open. For example if you have children then a lot of FIFO wives find they can't work, so that means you have $75k between 2 of you. That would not service a mortgage on the cheapest house in the most rundown area of Perth. My girlfriend's pretty easy going and is used to me working long unsociable hours! I'd be aiming for a salary anywhere between 90-100K to begin with really but hey we'll see... Cheers, English Edited April 18, 2012 by The Flying Englishman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Flying Englishman Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) $75k though in Perth is not a lot of money. Also, please bear in mind that the industry has a turnover of staff of about 40% per year for good reason. There are a couple of big reports doing the rounds at the moment about FIFO. One out yesterday looking at health and that FIFO lifestyle is horrendous on health. It is famously bad for marriage. I get better rosters than mining staff being a geologist, but even for geologists the divorce rate is about 70%. There are pluses, but there are a lot of negatives. Make sure it is something you go into with eyes wide open. For example if you have children then a lot of FIFO wives find they can't work, so that means you have $75k between 2 of you. That would not service a mortgage on the cheapest house in the most rundown area of Perth. Incan count on the fingers of one hand the number of new staff that started the year I started at my last mine that were still in the industry 3 years later when I left. Sound advice - Thanky you. Health & Safety will always be a factor working in that kind of environment but to be fair working on construction sites isn't much better! Idealy I'd be looking for a starting salary of around 100K in site safety & site / facility management etc, houlage, drilling - whatever I can get. The missus will be working as well so the pay doesn't have to be huge to begin with. No kids or marriage, just my girlfriend and I, and chunky mutt. Missus is used to me working unsociable hours and coming home filthy dirty so all good. verystormy - How did you get into the industry? Any tips or pointers for someone wanting to follow suit? Cheers, English Edited April 20, 2012 by The Flying Englishman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ecandrla Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) Hi LadyJo, If your hubby is successful in getting into the mines as a carpenter he will probably not need power tools as I would think they will be provided (plus the FIFO with tools wouldn't work), but if he is going to work for himself locally then he will need all tools and a van. There is also the option of sub-contracting to another company which will also require tools and van. With my job building the miners accommodation I only needed a tool belt, hammer, square, tape, etc. This job was a self employed subbie role (ABN required). There are inductions for both mining & construction, the MARCSTA for mining (just did that today $150 - one day course with richards mining services) and the white card (you can do this online in about an hour $90 bluedogtraining.com.au) for construction. If he wants to work in/around Perth the white card is enough, but some mines require the MARCSTA but I am told not all as the larger mines have their own inductions. There is an ad in last weeks west australian for FIFO carpenters which states a need for HR (HGV) licence. If you send me an email address I can send you a photo of the ad. I am doing the HR (HGV) licence in two hour lessons. A 2hour block costs $218 and I am told that 5-6 lessons should see me through. There is also a company called Keen bros who do the HR in a one day crash course for $1250. I have never driven HGV though, if you already had this in the UK I would say a two hour refresher lesson and test should be enough. Edited April 18, 2012 by ecandrla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 19, 2012 Report Share Posted April 19, 2012 I am a geologist, so getting into the industry was a natural progression from uni. The health issues are different for FIFO than a construction site. I don't mean the day to day safety issues which of course there are many. But that FIFO poses unique problems. For example, alcoholism is a massive problem with some estimates being that half of FIFO people are alcoholics. Obesity is a huge issue. Sorry the pun. Depression is a big problem and in the airports now are posters everywhere for mental health phone numbers. It's not your wife being used to you coming home dirty from a construction site, you will come home clean, but you won't be coming home for up to a month. She will be on her own in a forign country for that period. Not easy. The pay which everyone seems to think is great really isn't. The hourly rate is actually about the same as a barman or general laborer in the city. It's just that on a mine you do a lot more hours. So for example, the best roster is 8/6 which is like week on week off. But that week on is a 96 hour week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cozzy Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hi All, Ive done a lot of research on the mining as its something I want to get into aswell. I am informed that even if your a tradesman (Im a Plumber) you wont walk straight into a nice well paid job doing your trade. You will need to start at the bottom IE; Labourer or similar and work up. You need mining experience to even apply for most of the jobs. You may only be on say $50k for a year or two before working up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hi All, Ive done a lot of research on the mining as its something I want to get into aswell. I am informed that even if your a tradesman (Im a Plumber) you wont walk straight into a nice well paid job doing your trade. You will need to start at the bottom IE; Labourer or similar and work up. You need mining experience to even apply for most of the jobs. You may only be on say $50k for a year or two before working up! I am curious as to why? Do you know what starting at the bottom is? It often involves truck driving. That means you drive a truck (an automatic) down a spiral to the bottom of a pit. Get loaded then drive up a spiral at 4km an hour to a pad, press a button to tip and drive back down. Repeat for 12 hours a day, 7 days / nights a week. No guarantee of "working your way up". Most don't as a lot depends on how you get on with the foreman who will decide who gets on what course. Your away in the middle of no where for weeks and get home, go for a beer and find the girl serving you is on a higher rate of pay per hour. I really can not describe how unrelentingly boring mining can be for a lot of people. When I was at uni I had a summer job putting letters in envelopes. That is a world of excitement compared to a lot of mining jobs. Sorry if I sound so negative about my industry, but it is important that people coming into it realize what they are coming into. Even roles for people with experience can be incredibly dull. For example the highest paid person on a lot of mine sites is a jumbo operator. Imagine a vehicle that has 2 big booms at the front which are actuall drills and operates underground. They earn up to 280k a year. They drill holes into a face of rock. Not exactly exciting. The whole thing with mining is that a good day is a boring day. Because that means no accidents or incidents. Because dont forget, mining can be a very safe place to work, but when things do go wrong they can go wrong very badly very quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cozzy Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 I am curious as to why? Do you know what starting at the bottom is? It often involves truck driving. That means you drive a truck (an automatic) down a spiral to the bottom of a pit. Get loaded then drive up a spiral at 4km an hour to a pad, press a button to tip and drive back down. Repeat for 12 hours a day, 7 days / nights a week. No guarantee of "working your way up". Most don't as a lot depends on how you get on with the foreman who will decide who gets on what course. Your away in the middle of no where for weeks and get home, go for a beer and find the girl serving you is on a higher rate of pay per hour. I really can not describe how unrelentingly boring mining can be for a lot of people. When I was at uni I had a summer job putting letters in envelopes. That is a world of excitement compared to a lot of mining jobs. Sorry if I sound so negative about my industry, but it is important that people coming into it realize what they are coming into. Even roles for people with experience can be incredibly dull. For example the highest paid person on a lot of mine sites is a jumbo operator. Imagine a vehicle that has 2 big booms at the front which are actuall drills and operates underground. They earn up to 280k a year. They drill holes into a face of rock. Not exactly exciting. The whole thing with mining is that a good day is a boring day. Because that means no accidents or incidents. Because dont forget, mining can be a very safe place to work, but when things do go wrong they can go wrong very badly very quickly Hi, This is just what ive been told by industry people (Like yourself). As I said they ask for experience in the mines on most (if not all) of the jobs advertised. But if your saying thats not the case then great! good news. Working your way up would mean getting on a mine and getting on site experience. Then from there you can apply for your chosen Trade job with experience in the industry under your belt. I dont mean Bum licking the foreman to get up the ladder!! lol. Your honesty on this subject is good to hear as its not all a bed of roses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sophiesindall Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 I've found this thread most interesting an was wondering if anyone knows what the opportunities are like for electricians? We have our visas and are flying to Perth on the 2nd June. Really need to find work ASAP... Any advise would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Newbies are recruited. Have a look at places undergoing expansion. Probably the best web site is infomine. A lot of it is subscription but you can get a lot of info and the careers section needs subscription but you can subscribe for careers only at a cost of about $20 a month with no minimum length of time. Be aware that jobs are often posted in the wrong sections though - HR not understanding roles. Be aware that moving from a mining role to a trade role isn't always easy as if you are any good, the division won't want to lose you and can effectively block it. Personally I love mining, but I get a much better roster than most and salary for me is very good and the work as a geologist great. But I am soooooo glad I don't drive a truck. I know I couldn't hack it. I am starting a new role soon and I will post any vacancies on here. Enjoying a well earned couple of months off at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulandDeb Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 I am a geologist, so getting into the industry was a natural progression from uni. The health issues are different for FIFO than a construction site. I don't mean the day to day safety issues which of course there are many. But that FIFO poses unique problems. For example, alcoholism is a massive problem with some estimates being that half of FIFO people are alcoholics. Obesity is a huge issue. Sorry the pun. Depression is a big problem and in the airports now are posters everywhere for mental health phone numbers. I have all of the above AND I STILL CAN'T GET INTO MINING... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Your a geo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulandDeb Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Your a geo? My bad...should have read like alcoholism is a massive problem with some estimates being that half of FIFO people are alcoholics. Obesity is a huge issue. Sorry the pun. Depression is a big problem and in the airports now are posters everywhere for mental health phone numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HeatherHighlander Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hi LadyJo, I was temping for a company called Hagstrom Drilling when I first arrived. It was a company set up by one guy with a good head for business and lots of mining experience. He and his mate set up the business 8 years ago and they had (when I was there) around 80 people working for them. It's a company which is expanding all the time. I did two weeks there just on the reception, and there were guys coming in all the time for interviews. I felt sorry for the HR manager!! But I think the advice about waiting til you get there is better. We had guys phoning up from New Zealand to inquire and when you say "yes we are looking for people". I asked about their experience and put them through to the HR manager. They said they would send their CVs. Many didn't bother but we were genuinely looking for people and the HR manager was getting frustrated that people let him down. The ones who got the jobs were those who came in to the office (in Canning Vale, not far from the city) with their CVs. More than often the HR manager was available to interview them on the spot and they would go from there. Some men even came in to the office wearing shorts and a pair of flip flops and were employed (although I would not recommend doing this). So, there is hope. I did some other temping work for drilling companies and they were all talking about the shortage of workers. He will definitely get a job, even if it's not ideal in the beginning. Good luck! Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 There are loads of jobs for drillers offsiders about. But be aware of what it involves. It is very physical hard graft working in the middle of the desert for 12 hours a day. It does offer the chance to moving up to becoming a driller which can pay good money. You work hard for 2-3 years and show some aptitude and over the next year or two you get chances to start doing bits of drilling. But it isn't a job for everyone. Tends to suit young guys that have grown up on farms and things and have a very good mechanical aptitude as there isn't a mechanic out there with you and you are paid by the meter so when things go wrong you need to be able to fix it. Quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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