WA mining and resource sector alone could need as many as 40,000 more workers by mid-2023.
National Skills Week’s Chairman Brian Wexham notes that Australia’s mining industry was responsible for 10.4 percent of GDP between 2019 and 2020, making it the single largest contributor to the national economy.
Australia’s minerals production remained robust in 2021, leading global production of iron ore and lithium, and ranking second in gold and cobalt. However, a near and medium-term labour shortage is looming that could slow mineral exports.