Collinsville State High School students will have a first-hand look at highly-skilled and highly-paid resources sector careers when they visit Glencore Coal’s Collinsville open-cut coal mine this week.

The tour will follow an Oresome Pathways Program event organised by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

Designed to provide students with an insight into trades within the sector, students will be mentored by representatives from Glencore Coal who will give them advice on how to follow in their footsteps.

“This is a unique opportunity for our students,” said Anna Reeves, Principal Collinsville State High School.

“I’m sure insights gained by the students will help them with goal setting for their senior high school years.”

Glencore Coal’s Phil Nobes said the resources sector needed to attract young people into its workforce and directly demonstrating the many possibilities for them was an effective approach.

“We also hope that by seeing how their studies are directly related to the real world of work it will boost their enthusiasm for their classroom work,” he said.

“We hope to see them in hi-vis again after they’ve completed their VET training or higher education.”

The QMEA engages with 80 schools throughout Queensland and is a partnership between the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and the State Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program.

The QRC is Queensland’s peak representative body for coal, metal and gas explorers, producers and suppliers across the resources sector. It contributes one in every five dollars to the Queensland economy, sustains one in six Queensland jobs and supports more than 14,400 businesses and 1400 community organisations across the state – all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

Media contact: Caroline Morrissey 0417 770 893 or carolinem@qrc.org.au