Partner wants to go work in the mines.

[sophiiac]

Hi there,

[Redhead]

My DH wants to do the same!
He's going to do a course in WA for driving dump trucks (he already has an HR licence) this year.
He's been wanting to go to the mines for ages, but ahs found it VERY difficult to get in!
The advice we have been given is to just be persistent and keep applying.
At the moment he works nights in security so we've had some experience with living "seperate lives" although with a new bubba due in October, thngs may feel rather different!

Good luck with everything.

[sophiiac]

asldkaldkaldkaldklakdlakdlad ada d a d add

[Trillian]

Sometimes it is easier to go through a labour hire company and get your foot in the door that way. My DH works in a mine (we didn't have to locate, one opened up 1hr away from us) and at the start everyone was put on directly by the company itself with only a few being subcontrators or labour hire, but now the majority of employees start through the labour hire company because if they no longer require your services or have a position for you, it is easier for them to stand down one person and the labour hire place can have another person in the job quite quickly without the company having to do all the interviews etc. But once you've been with the labour hire company for a while, you can apply to join the mine company for a permanent position with them. Sometimes it is only the real specialist type positions that are advertised directly by the mining companies. You don't even need your HR drivers licence as most mines will train you to drive the trucks on the job anyway. Even women without a HR licence can get a job in a dump truck.

Obviously we don't do FIFO, but some companies will only fly you to your nearest city and then you find your own way home but others will go to your closest airport etc. My DH has been working there for 7 years now. Firstly on the construction of the mine and now as a serviceman/leading hand/fitter on the maintenance crew but being so close he drives to town and then they run coaches out to the mine itself. As for relocating, there are a few things you have to factor in. Some mines in WA are only camps - so only the workers live there and their families are all elsewhere. Other 'mine towns' are often really really expensive to live in and even our own town has seen a stupid increase in the cost of rents - houses that were being rented for $100 a week before the mine officially started are now going for nearly $300 per week because the owners could charge what they liked on them, but that has settled a bit because the mine company brought a shedload of land and put transportable homes on them so the rents dropped a little but they are still high for this region. I know some of the blokes that DH works with live elsewhere and stay here during their shift and that eats into their wage as well. One of his mates is currently getting a room for $25 per shift and it looks like he will lose that room (I have no idea why) and if he has to find somewhere else to stay then he will quit the job as it will cost too much money and not be financially viable anymore. So that is one aspect to consider as well.

I don't know which ones to avoid as they all have their pros and cons. Most of the blokes travel around to different companies/areas etc and they all have their stories about those places. DH has a mate in WA working on a mine construction and he's heard that the one where DH works is one of the lowest paid mines in the country and it is terrible to work at, but DH hasn't found it that bad and the money is great by our standards so I think it is all about perspective. The company looks after us really well too so we've not had a problem.

[Redhead]

My partner also has his HR License, and a few other tickets.

How long have you guys been applying for? What sort of jobs are you applying for?

Thanks

He's been applying on and off for about 2 years with very little success.
He did get one interview for a security related position (he really wants out of security tho) and we thought it would be a good foot in the door, but that didn't pan out.
The company that he's doing the course with help place people in positions after completion, so we're hoping that this will be what gets him in!

[sophiiac]

[QUOTE=Redhead;2836840]

[sophiiac]

Sometimes it is easier to go through a labour hire company and get your foot in the door that way. My DH works in a mine (we didn't have to locate, one opened up 1hr away from us) and at the start everyone was put on directly by the company itself with only a few being subcontrators or labour hire, but now the majority of employees start through the labour hire company because if they no longer require your services or have a position for you, it is easier for them to stand down one person and the labour hire place can have another person in the job quite quickly without the company having to do all the interviews etc. But once you've been with the labour hire company for a while, you can apply to join the mine company for a permanent position with them. Sometimes it is only the real specialist type positions that are advertised directly by the mining companies. You don't even need your HR drivers licence as most mines will train you to drive the trucks on the job anyway. Even women without a HR licence can get a job in a dump truck.

Obviously we don't do FIFO, but some companies will only fly you to your nearest city and then you find your own way home but others will go to your closest airport etc. My DH has been working there for 7 years now. Firstly on the construction of the mine and now as a serviceman/leading hand/fitter on the maintenance crew but being so close he drives to town and then they run coaches out to the mine itself. As for relocating, there are a few things you have to factor in. Some mines in WA are only camps - so only the workers live there and their families are all elsewhere. Other 'mine towns' are often really really expensive to live in and even our own town has seen a stupid increase in the cost of rents - houses that were being rented for $100 a week before the mine officially started are now going for nearly $300 per week because the owners could charge what they liked on them, but that has settled a bit because the mine company brought a shedload of land and put transportable homes on them so the rents dropped a little but they are still high for this region. I know some of the blokes that DH works with live elsewhere and stay here during their shift and that eats into their wage as well. One of his mates is currently getting a room for $25 per shift and it looks like he will lose that room (I have no idea why) and if he has to find somewhere else to stay then he will quit the job as it will cost too much money and not be financially viable anymore. So that is one aspect to consider as well.

I don't know which ones to avoid as they all have their pros and cons. Most of the blokes travel around to different companies/areas etc and they all have their stories about those places. DH has a mate in WA working on a mine construction and he's heard that the one where DH works is one of the lowest paid mines in the country and it is terrible to work at, but DH hasn't found it that bad and the money is great by our standards so I think it is all about perspective. The company looks after us really well too so we've not had a problem.

[Redhead]

It's in WA with Richards Mining Services. He goes in July, I can give you an update after he comes back if you like?

[sophiiac]

It's in WA with Richards Mining Services. He goes in July, I can give you an update after he comes back if you like?

[Redhead]

We wouldn't move, at least not right away.
DH has a daugher who goes to school here & with me expecting our first together, that would be too big a move at this time.

[sophiiac]

We wouldn't move, at least not right away.
DH has a daugher who goes to school here & with me expecting our first together, that would be too big a move at this time.

[Just Me]

My DH manages a recruiting company and some of the positions he fills are for mines. He said at the moment it is best to apply directly to the mines at the moment. Rio Tinto, BHP, MMG, Ernest Henry and Mt Isa Mines are all apparently opening new mines or expanding so DH reckons they might be your best bet. He also said not to do a course because every mine has different course expectations and if you do one course it might not help you out with mines that have the positions going though lots of recruitment companies will tell you that you need to do a course. DH just attended the mining expo here so has just had three days of meeting with them all.

Depending on the mine depends on the arrangement as far as FIFO or live in. My SIL's brother works for a mine and they fly him anywhere in Australia at the end of each stint so he just chooses which family member he wants to stay with or where he wants to holiday and they fly him there. He doesn't have a family or a home. He just floats on his week off.

I think once you have mine experience, it is easier to move between mines - I have other friends who lived at Weipa for a while but wanted to move back here and had no trouble once they had experience moving to a different mine. They are a marriage couple and she is a geologist and he is an engineer so they both have transferred a couple of times together with no issues. I think it is hard enough to get in that it might be difficult to be picky but once he's in and has a bit of experience, it might be easier to choose.

Good luck

[sophiiac]

My DH manages a recruiting company and some of the positions he fills are for mines. He said at the moment it is best to apply directly to the mines at the moment. Rio Tinto, BHP, MMG, Ernest Henry and Mt Isa Mines are all apparently opening new mines or expanding so DH reckons they might be your best bet.

[Just Me]

DH said through their websites.

DH said he is currently placing for one of the mines and wants to know does he have a trade as well or just a HR licence?

[sophiiac]

[QUOTE=Just Me;2837802]DH said through their websites.