JOB SEEKERS in Australian mining and resources like the industry's flexible work arrangements - and an increasing number of those job seekers are women. These are among the findings of a new Jobseeker Index developed for the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA), which show that 30 percent of all people showing an interest in a resource industry career are women.

Job seekers are attracted to the resources industries because of flexibility - and today more applicants are women

It is an interesting development, according to the woman who heads up the AMMA miningoilandgasjobs.com site, which developed the Jobseeker Index, Kyla Jones.

"While men remain the dominant demographic, it is encouraging that 30 percent of all people showing interest in a resource industry career are women," said website director, Ms Jones.

"This shows collective employer efforts to attract more women and increase the traditional 15 percent female participation rate, are gaining momentum."

Ms Jones said the results also showed that the remote locations, diverse opportunities and flexible nature on offer within the resources industry were seeing more jobseekers gather career information online.

While trade-qualified men aged 35-55 remain the largest group of resource industry jobseekers, the demographic index reveals a range of surprising traits among people actively pursuing careers across Australia's mining, oil and gas sectors.

"The index shows jobseekers typically have more than 15 years experience in the workforce and varying degrees of education, though many hold diplomas, certificates or trade qualifications," Ms Jones said.

"Many are hoping to progress their career within the industry or want to transfer from another sector and take advantage of the benefits a resource career offers.

"Jobseekers also appear to be open to flexible work arrangements, including a range of FIFO (fly-in-fly-out) rosters with two-weeks on, one-week off being the most popular choice."

Ms Jones said the AMMA miningoilandgasjobs.com Jobseeker Index has been developed to analyse the trends, motivations and demographics of resource industry jobseekers and the first edition (June 2013) has delivered wide ranging results. The index will be published every six months.

"Networking online and visiting career websites exposes jobseekers to greater opportunities than the local paper or recruitment firm," Ms Jones said.

"People interested in mining, oil and gas careers are proving to be very tech-savvy, with 62 percent actively searching through social media channels such as Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook."

Other key findings from the AMMA miningoilangasjobs.com Jobseekers Index include:

• 72 percent of jobseekers are aged 35 or older;
• Men represent 70 percent of the jobseeker audience with an average age of 42;
• 61 percent of jobseekers have more than 15 years of workforce experience;
• 23 percent are Degree educated; 48 percent are qualified to Diploma, Trade or Certificate I, II, III;
• Almost a third (32%) hail from Queensland, followed by 18 percent in Western Australia;
• Jobseekers are largely motivated by career progression or a change in industry;
• Jobseekers value information on career development more than other non-salary benefits;
• Workers experienced in skilled trades, administration, management, engineering and construction represented the largest respondent groups.

Ms Jones said the  AMMA miningoilandgasjobs.com Jobseeker Index was compiled from a national survey of 1,045 visitors to the resource industry owned-and-operated careers website, AMMA miningoilandgasjobs.com. The index tracks key demographics, lifestyle and job search trends to provide a biannual report on the national resource industry jobseeker audience and recruitment landscape.

http://www.amma.org.au/

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AUSTRALIA's oil and gas industry claims the Federal Government’s decision to extend the coverage of the Migration Act to target vessels servicing Australia’s offshore oil and gas activities is "yet another unnecessary blow to an industry already suffering the world’s highest costs, most restrictive red-tape and lowest productivity".

Australia's offshore oil and gas processing could be affected by migration zone changes.

The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) sai it has been a key stakeholder in this matter and a vocal opponent to what it calls the Maritime Union of Australia's (MUA) "misleading campaign against foreign vessels doing critical work on Australia’s offshore mega-projects".

“We are already seeing key resource projects scaled back or delayed and this move will add to the increasing cost and difficulty of doing business in Australia,” said AMMA executive director for industry, Scott Barklamb.

“The Australian government needs to be in the business of doing more to attract and retain investment in this country, not discouraging investment just to deliver on yet another trade union demand prior to September.

“This week international resource industry leaders told our government that Australia needs to improve the operating environment and incentives to bring mega-investments to this country. The government should be listening to these global decision makers, not to the MUA and its self interest in extending its power.”

In an interview with Resource People magazine, subsea construction company Allseas Australia explained how its vessels create six Australian jobs for each international crew member.

“These specialist vessels need the flexibility to be able to enter and exit Australian waters for short time periods and in doing so they regularly employ hundreds of Australian workers,” Mr Barklamb said.

“For example, the Allseas’ vessel Lorelay has just 25 non-Australian crew members who are required to operate the ship right around the world. Once it enters Australian waters, up to 150 Australian workers are employed onboard to complete the vast majority of tasks.

“Tying these vessels up in red tape through a manipulation of our migration laws leaves nothing to gain for anyone other than the MUA. This move is also inconsistent with Australia’s international obligations and it doesn’t reflect the global nature of resource industry operations.

“Our policy makers need to consider the reputational damage to Australia as a modern and flexible place to do business. We cannot afford to be the only country in the world that makes it so difficult and expensive for these foreign vessels to complete vital short-term contracts.

“It is also telling that the government is unnecessarily extending Australia’s legal reach and responsibilities in relation to regulating offshore activities, at the same time as it excises the mainland from our migration zone for humanitarian migration.”

www.amma.org.au

www.mua.org.au

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AUSTRALIANS are this year more focused on receiving higher pay and benefits from their employers. It is a significant change from recent years in which most were seeking greater job security - and it looks like employers are being called to recognise the faith of their loyal employees after difficult times.

Ranstad research reveals emplpyees are seeking higher benefits in 2013, after tough years.

The new findings come from surveys of 7000 working age people by recruitment and human resources (HR) services provider, Randstad.

The research, released ahead of the third annual Randstad Awards, are an about-turn on last year's figures, where people placed long-term job security and an employer's financial health as the two most important factors when selecting a place to work.

According to Ranstad, the past few years have been difficult for both employers and employees, with increased workloads, higher performance expectations and limited or no employee benefits. This is the year employees seem to be looking for rewards for the hard work they've put in - and it's time for organisations to repay the faith of their loyal employees.

This year, receiving a competitive salary and benefits is now the most important factor, according to one in five (20%) Australians - up from only 11 percent in 2012. The number of Australians valuing long-term job security has fallen nine points, from 26 percent down to 17 percent.

A good work-life balance is now the third most important factor, with almost three times more Australians (11%) now viewing it as the most significant factor, compared to just 12 months ago. 

Speaking ahead of this year's Randstad Awards, on March 26, where the most attractive employers in Australia will be crowned, Ranstad managing director Asia Pacific, Deb Loveridge, said organisations needed to realise it has been a tough couple of years, not just for their own business, but for their employees.

"Working through challenging economic conditions, people have had to deal with smaller budgets, less resources, increased workloads, higher performance expectations and limited or no employee benefits," Ms Loveridge said.

"Management need to tread carefully to ensure they recognise, reward and retain top talent by carefully managing expectations in terms of future performance and compensation to keep people happy, engaged and loyal.

"As we move further into 2013, workers increasingly want to be rewarded for their loyalty and hard work over the last two years. For many businesses in Australia, 2013 will need to be the time to repay the faith of their employees."

Ms Loveridge said the results show Australians are open to accepting attractive employment benefits which are relevant to them.

Aussies are starting to evaluate what's important to them within a work context, and then placing these issues at the top of their list of requirements when looking for a job," she said. "This is good news for businesses, and highlights while salary is important, employees will be open to other benefits if a pay rise is still not a possibility in the short term.

"To ensure employees are satisfied and engaged, businesses need to be open to thinking outside the box when rewarding employees. Listen to the factors which are most important to your workers, and focus on satisfying these requests. Organisations who don't could find themselves losing talent and along with that, their intellectual property and relationships with customers which
can set your business back six months or more."

Ms Loveridge said employees may be unlikely to wait around if they feel there is a better offer elsewhere, or if their loyalty and hard work is not being adequately rewarded. This can lead to more movement in the market, and businesses may have to work harder to retain top talent.

"Organisations which invest in their people, in their business' unique selling points and invest regularly in improving their employer brand are usually the most attractive in an open labour market. It's these businesses which will most likely benefit from any shift toward offering workplace benefits when a pay rise is not an option," Ms Loveridge said.

The Randstad Awards aim to reveal the most attractive places to work in Australia, with the winner being decided by the public and
organisations unable to nominate themselves or determine categories or criteria for entry. The winner is determined from the largest 150 employers in Australia (by employee size).

For the first time this year, the Randstad Awards has opened up to include Federal Government agencies as part of the largest 150
organisations.

"We are looking forward to seeing how public sector agencies compare with commercial organisations in Australia in terms of their
perceived attractiveness as an employer," Ms Loveridge said.

Launched in Belgium in 2000, the Randstad Awards will be hosted in 18 countries around the world including, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Spain and the Netherlands capturing the perceptions of 160,000 potential jobseekers.

The 2013 Randstad Award winner will be announced on the March 26 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney.

International employer brand strategist Brett Minchington will be the keynote speaker at the event which will be attended by executives from many of Australia's largest 150 companies including Qantas, ABC, Newcrest Mining, Virgin Australia, Coca Cola, Lion, Nestle, Computershare and WorleyParsons.

Previous Ranstad winners in Australia include Newcrest Mining, ABC, Virgin Australia and BHP Billiton.

www.ranstad.com.au

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AUSTRADE and the Federal Department of Trade and Investment have announced a scholarship, named in honour of Australia's first female Trade Commissioner Beryl Wilson, to assist women to break into international business.

Andrew Robb, Federal Trade and Investment Minister.

Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb this month established the Beryl Wilson Austrade Scholarship for Women in International Business. Ms Wilson was appointed as an Australian trade commissioner in 1963 and the announcement marked the 50th anniversary of her first appointment.

The $40,000 annual Austrade scholarship will be awarded to a female student enrolled full-time in international business studies.

"At a time when women were struggling to be recognised, Beryl Wilson was able to break through the barriers and achieve her career aspirations," Mr Robb said.

"She provided a strong role model to inspire other women to serve their country as Trade Commissioners."

Mr Robb said today women are responsible for overseeing trade diplomacy at some of Austrade's key overseas offices including Washington, Toronto, New Delhi, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow and Guangzhou.

Ms Wilson's career included postings in San Francisco, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and London. She also served as Deputy Director within the then Department of Trade and Industry, parts of which later formed the Australian Trade Commission.

"The scholarship recognises the contribution of women to Australia's international trade, but hopefully it will also encourage more women to consider a career in international business," Mr Robb said.

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must be Australian citizens, be enrolled full-time in the final year of a masters degree by coursework in international business or a master of business administration with an international business specialisation and have Asian language competency.

Austrade will award one scholarship each year valued at $40,000. The scholarship can be used for course fees, study materials and other related expenses.

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to participate in the Women in Global Business program, a joint Australian, State and Territory Government initiative which aims to increase the number of women in international trade.

The scholarship will be promoted through Universities Australia, the peak body representing Australia's 39 universities.

For more information on the scholarship and application details, visit www.austrade.gov.au/beryl-wilson-scholarship. Applications must be lodged through the online application form.

Applications for the 2014 Beryl Wilson Austrade Scholarship for Women in International Business close at 11:30pm AEST on December 15, 2013.

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