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About 20 Collinsville State High Students are getting the inside running on entering in-demand trade careers this week as they are mentored by trades people from Glencore Coal.

The National Skills Commission puts many of the trades crucial to the resources sector at the top of its skills shortage list, such as electricians and fitters.

The workshop, run by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council, enables students to experience a variety of trade activities related to the resources sector while being mentored by Glenore Coal trades people.

The activities include electrical, pnuematics, and mechanical, as well as a trade career aptitude test.

“Skills shortages are the number one concern of our QRC member CEOs in our latest sentiment survey,” said Katrina-Lee Jones, Director Skills and Education with the QRC.

“SEEK employment data also shows more than 1,300 resources jobs vacant in Queensland.

“Looking forward, jobs growth over the next five years is likely to continue due to increasing global demand for traditional resources like coal, base metals and gas plus the growing demand for new economy minerals such as cobalt, graphite, vanadium and rare earths, which are being used to build everything from microchips to electric vehicles.

“So it’s clear we need to attract young people into these careers and we especially want to see more girls and Indigenous students consider these career choices.”

Collinsville State High School Principal Anna Reeves said it was highly beneficial for students to talk to industry people who can pass on valuable information about careers and what the students need to achieve at school to follow in their footsteps.

“It’s great for their personal development, and to understand how their schoolwork relates to the outside world,” she said.

Glencore Coal’s Dawid Pretorius, Operations Manager at Collinsville Open Cut said they were also looking forward to taking the students on site.

“It’s something most people don’t get to do, and it will certainly be an eye opener for the students to see the scale of the operations and how being a trades person on a mine fits in with that.”

As Australia’s largest and most successful industry-led education and skills training initiative, the QMEA seeks to broaden student and teacher knowledge of career opportunities in resources.

The academy encourages a talent pipeline of employees into VET and STEM-related careers, with a focus on female and Indigenous participation. The QMEA currently engages with 80 schools and is a partnership between the QRC and the Queensland Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program.

Media Contact: Caroline Morrissey  0417 770893 or Carolinem@qrc.org.au