DJSB study 70 professions including geologists and mining engineers by tracking job vacancies and following up with employers.  Previous DJSB reports can be found here.  The latest resources sector survey was released in April, 2017, examining employment prospects for geologists and engineers.

The survey found, for geologists, that:

• the labour market for geologists and geophysicists has been well supplied with qualified and experienced applicants since 2014
• there were, on average, 39.3 applicants per vacancy, with an average of 5.5 per vacancy considered suitable by employers.
• the current survey showed a notable decline in the number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy compared with last year and a number of employers attributed this to a recent improvement in recruitment activity following the upturn in mining commodity prices.
• Applicant numbers, however, remain high compared with those between 2007 and 2013.
• All employers required applicants to hold at least a bachelor degree in geology or a closely related field.
• Employers usually sought applicants with experience in a particular type of mine (underground or open cut), mining commodity, job role (for example, exploration or mine production) and a specific mining-related software package.
• The full-time employment outcome for geology graduates declined from 70.8 per cent in 2013 to 54.6 per cent in 2015.

Proportion of vacancies filled (%), average number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy (no.), Geologists and Geophysicists, Australia, 2007 to 2017

DJSB  found that forward Indicators suggest a further softening in mining investment activity over the short term which is likely to have a dampening effect on the demand for resource industry professionals. AIG met with DJSB last week to discuss the survey and compare results with the AIG quarterly employment surveys.