Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey

Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey

The latest instalment in the survey series is open for contributions.

This survey will provide data on trends in geoscientist employment in Australia during the first quarter (January to March) of 2020.  Australia, during the first quarter of 2020, was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic which has placed restrictions on normal work and travel, both within Australia and internationally.  These surveys will, during the coming year, help to build a picture of the impacts of the pandemic’s impact on geoscientist employment, exploration and mining activity.

This survey commenced just over ten years ago to help assess the impacts of the global financial crisis.  It’s more than unnerving to find our profession and broader community facing another situation with potentially serious economic impacts.  A strong exploration and mining industry is an essential element of  Australia’s economic well-being.  The survey series has demonstrated that employment prospects for geoscientists help to monitor the broader health of the industry.

Unemployment amongst Australian geoscientists, at the end of 2019, was running at a rate of 7.3%, little changed over the second half of the year.  The underemployment rate amongst geoscientists was 13.1%.


Long term employment was a major concern, with more than half of the unemployed respondents reporting being out of work or unable to achieve their desired level of work for more than 12 months.  One-third of unemployed geoscientists reported being out of work for more than two years.  

The survey takes only two or three minutes to complete.  You do not need to be an AIG member to contribute.  No data that could personally identify respondents is collected.  Contributions to the survey are required from both employed and unemployed geoscientists to ensure the relevance of results.  Your completing the survey really helps to make a difference to the standing and knowledge of our profession.

The survey will be open for contributions until 1 May 2020.  Every contribution adds to the reliability of the survey results.  

Follow this link to complete the survey.

Sincere thanks in advance for your continued support of the survey series.


Exploration Radio NEW EPISODE #34: In a League of Her Own with Kathy Ehrig

An interest in rocks: that’s why some people become geologists.

But as your career progresses you are likely to become a manager or maybe an executive.

And the technical aspects of geology might become less of a focus.

In this episode of Exploration Radio, we bring you In a League of Her Own with Kathy Ehrig.

Kathy has bucked the trend and maintained her technical role for nearly 3 decades, unveiling the geometallurgical secrets of one of the world’s largest orebodies, Olympic Dam.

Let’s hear from Kathy about what she has learnt along the way, including the importance of learning to talk to those outside your own technical discipline.

 

LISTEN NOW

CoRE Learning Foundation – March Quarterly Report 2020

 

There has been much to celebrate in our first 2020 quarter and our team recognises more than ever that there is no better time than the present to acknowledge our vision, of “imaging a better future where lifelong learning is unleashed in the classroom”. That classroom for now, for all in Western Australia, is through remote learning at home. A totally foreign landscape, but a landscape of opportunity and one to challenge and reward our students through the guidance of our CoRE educators. We can’t wait to see what they produce.

We are now operating in three Western Australian regions, we have introduced primary CoRE and most importantly we have responded effectively to the current global health pandemic and developed the CoRE Beyond 2020 Learning Model.

This newly adapted version, ensures that our diverse population of students and their schools, from the Goldfields, the Pilbara and the metropolitan area can all continue to move forward with their education into the current remote learning space. We have been able to facilitate this transition because the CoRE Learning Model is inclusive, robust and contemporary. Its integrated STEAM Learning strategies can support an independent operation for all our CoRE Schools.

For the coming months, our CoRE team is strongly committed to the delivery and support of the CoRE Beyond 2020 Learning Model. To support our youth of today for tomorrow’s world, we will continue to foster positive relationships with our schools, monitor their CoRE implementation and use their evidence and feedback to continue to evolve the CoRE Learning Model.

Click here to read the full March Quarterly Report 2020

Roy Woodall Medal

The Australian Geoscience Council takes much pleasure in announcing the launch of the Roy Woodall Medal. The Roy Woodall Medal seeks to recognise scientific excellence in both mineral exploration and the documentation of world-class mineral deposits.

This award honours the extensive contribution to scientific excellence in Mineral Geoscience that Roy Woodall AO has made over his lifetime. Roy Woodall’s high scientific standards, innovative approach to exploration and use of the latest geoscientific techniques have left a enormous and lasting legacy of improved scientific methodologies and exploration successes. The WMC team under Roy’s leadership made many world class discoveries in Australia, several of which opened up entire new mineral provinces. The most notable of these include the Darling Range Bauxite Province, the Kambalda Nickel District, the Olympic Dam Copper-Gold-Uranium deposit and the St Ives Gold Camp. More importantly than even these discoveries, Roy’s dedication to the training and mentorship of other geoscientists has advanced the capabilities of Australia’s mining and exploration industries and the development of our nation.

This intention of this award is to recognise those individuals that seek to emulate Roy’s contribution to the mineral industry by applying the best science to the endeavours of mineral exploration and the documentation of world-class mineral deposits. The goal of this is to encourage the ethos of scientific excellence that Roy was such a strong advocate for.

The Australian Geoscience Council is now calling for nominations for the inaugural award of the Roy Woodall Medal. Nominations will be required to provide a succinct overview of the achievements and successes of their nominee. Nominations should also provide evidence of how the nominee stands out above other geoscientists as a rightful recipient of this award.
The nominations should include three referees, separate to the nominators, prepared to support the nomination for this award.

It is currently envisaged that the inaugural recipient of the Australian Geoscience Council’s Roy Woodall Award will be announced at Diggers and Dealers 2020.

Application forms can be completed via the online form on the AGC website www.agc.org.au/geoscience-in-australia/roy-woodall-medal


For more information contact:
Kim Frankcombe AGC Secretary secretary@agc.org.au
Leanne Gunther AGC Admin Officer admin@agc.org.au