No uni? No prob! The resources sector needs more apprentices

If you have a sense of adventure and enjoy doing technical work, an apprenticeship in mining and resources could be for you

The resources sector has a lot to offer an apprentice graduate. The industry dishes out one of the biggest salaries for Australian industry jobs, loads you up with in-demand skills and presents a shot at seeing more of Australia – with 150 different occupations to choose from in Western Australia alone, we mean serious travel opportunities!

The good news is, all of the big names in mining like BHP, Rio Tinto and Barminco have highly structured – in demand – apprenticeship programs with regular intakes. Last year Alcoa only hired 26 apprentices out of 1699 applicants, but BHP announced 3500 new apprenticeships over the next five years, including 2500 for their FutureFit Academy.

Apprentices in mining and resources often work with heavy machinery in maintenance, parts fitting and electrical roles and with billions of projects in the pipeline there are always jobs to fill.

Damian Williams is a second-year electrical apprentice with gas pipeline builders APA Group in Darwin. “I’ve been to stations and communities I would have never dreamed of visiting. I’ve also been on two helicopter flights, experiences that I’ll cherish forever,” he says.

Damian’s study and career pathway

• AFL player, Greater Western Sydney
• Electrical Apprentice, AKON
• Electrical Apprentice, APA Group

This article originally appears in Careers with STEM: Apprenticeships & Traineeships 2021 – the flip cover to Careers with STEM: Engineering 2021.

READ MORE:

• Meet a junior mining engineer
• WA mining sector digging deep for skilled workforce
• How sustainable tech is creating next-gen mining careers

Author: Chloe Walker

Chloe is a freelance writer and editor from Melbourne. She loves talking to people about their passions, whether that’s STEM, arts, business, or something else entirely! www.chloe-walker.com