Throughout February and March 2025, we engaged in more than 200 consultations, including over 88 written submissions. The roundtables were attended by a balanced cross-section of our remit, with a majority of attendees representing an education pathway provider or industry (Figure 1).¹

The majority of the attendees were either managers or directors in their respective organisations, with a smaller representation from the executive and operational levels (Figure 2).²  The balanced nature of the sample of attendees and respondents ensures robustness in the reporting and analysis undertaken by us in support of our workforce planning and research activities.

Below is a summary of key themes identified during the roundtables on a question level.ⁱ We have identified these themes based on stakeholder consultations and invite feedback towards themes or trends we may have missed or should direct greater focus towards.

Current skills shortages

• AI, cyber technology skills: The rise of autonomous operations has increased the focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security, creating new challenges and exposing systems to cyber risks. Skills for diagnosing, maintaining, and repairing these technologies are needed but currently fall outside our training packages and purview.
  • Potential action: We will investigate this skills shortage through research and stakeholder consultations to better identify pathways into these occupations and potential training product gaps.
    
    
• Supervisor skills: Stakeholders have expressed the need for better supervisory training. Concerns include potential regulation and licensing rather than actual skill improvement.
  • Potential action: Ongoing stakeholder engagement will allow us to better inform industry needs and appropriate responses on this front.³
    
    
• Water well licensing is essential for protecting Australia’s groundwater and is a key skill set for the mining industry and the drilling occupation.
  • Potential action: We will explore pathways and upskill options for obtaining a water well license, the industry needs around these licences, and a gap analysis of training products currently delivering these solutions.
    
    
• Engineers: skills needed for engineering are identified as a critical need across the mining industry, falling STEM enrolments signal a potential bottleneck in recruitment and availability of engineers for the industry. Currently, engineering pathways are largely serviced through the higher education stream.
  • Potential action: The vocational degree project stands to address some of these challenges and we invite input into the project from industry. ⁴
    
    
• Mobile plant technology: The Australian automotive and mining industries are undergoing a rapid transition toward electrification, driven by environmental regulations, corporate sustainability goals, and the adoption of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. This shift necessitates a highly skilled workforce capable of maintaining and servicing battery-electric equipment, particularly in mobile plant and mining operations. However, stakeholders have identified that current training pathways may not be sufficient to meet emerging needs, highlighting the requirement for revised and new qualifications, units of competency, and skill sets.
  • Potential action: A project in our pipeline will review the Certificate III in Mobile Plant Technology. Updates will be accessible on the website when available.

Future skills shortages

• Hydrogen safety: Training products for hydrogen safety are crucial due to the potential dangers of mishandling hydrogen. These skills will become increasingly essential as we travel the path to electrification and decarbonisation.
  • Potential action: We are currently consulting with stakeholders nationally to develop new training products that will address the safe handling and maintenance of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.⁵ We will continue to engage stakeholders to assess the need for such products and conduct a gap analysis to identify the need to update and develop training product solutions as appropriate.
    
    
• Critical minerals: Critical minerals are essential for advanced manufacturing, renewables, and medical technologies. However, we currently are not at the forefront of critical minerals processing and refinement and the skills required for these activities.
  • Potential action: We will investigate the need for training in critical minerals processing and refinement underpinned by research and stakeholder engagement.
    
    
• Technological change-related skills: Autonomous mobile mining equipment, AI integration. As AI and other digital tools become ubiquitous, there is a need for constant evaluation of whether these skills are suitably being sourced outside our remit, or whether we need to develop solutions within our remit.
  • Potential action: We will continue to engage stakeholders to establish the need for such training solutions within our remit and continue to monitor and report on evolving industry trends and needs and how the industry and AUSMASA can respond to these changes.⁶
    
    
• Electrical skills: Stakeholders have identified a growing need for: battery electric, electrification, and restricted electrical licenses.
  • Potential action: Electrical skills are becoming increasingly important with the shifts towards net zero and decarbonisation. The increase in electrical equipment results in the demand for a higher number of electricians and electrical skills. We will investigate potential pathways to bring such skills into our remit to aid in a more optimal delivery of these skills and explore licencing opportunities.

How the mining industry currently mitigates skills shortages

• Higher wages: The mining industry offers higher salaries to improve retention and recruitment.
  
  
• Upskilling and workforce planning: Multiple stakeholders deliver internal qualifications to upskill employees and build workforce dependency. Collaboration with universities helps VET-qualified employees obtain tertiary degrees. Our research also shows that turnover in the mining sector continues to fall. Upskilling could be a major factor contributing to the decreasing turnover.⁷
  
  
• Overseas recruitment: This approach is primarily used for occupations requiring tertiary graduates, such as engineers and data scientists, due to the alignment of the migration system with higher education qualifications.

Future disruptors

• Aging workforce: The mining workforce is aging, particularly among FIFO workers.
  • Potential action: Further research to better understand demographic trends that can inform mitigation strategies.
    
    
• Recruitment challenges: The industry's environmental perception issues, due to decarbonisation and net zero, deter younger workers despite high salaries.
  • Potential action: We encourage the use of our research on Gen Z Perceptions of Mining to better inform industry stakeholders around the issue and will continue to aid industry in establishing links and pathways that promote greater awareness of the diversity of careers in mining.
    
    
• Global politics: Australia’s exports are facing some level of uncertainty due to global politics, potential tariffs and global economic volatility. The mining industry as a key exporter in Australia may face turbulence due to these trends.
  • Potential action: Further research to better understand industry-level challenges and potential industry-level responses.

Research stakeholders would like to see

• Assessing skills shortages: The industry would like to see specific skill/occupation level assessments from us on shortages. This is an ongoing theme and will continue through the Workforce Planning and Policy team’s research and stewardship activities.
  
  
• Economic trends: We will provide extended analysis of how economic trends affect industries.
  
  
• Trends impacting the workforce: Our work will focus on issues like the aging workforce.
  
  
• Case studies: We will feature success stories and best practices in the workforce plan and bulletin.
    

Feedback from the roundtables was collected using interactive facilitation alongside in-depth discussion sessions with stakeholders and various follow-up channels. Feedback and notes collected from these mediums were then put through two separate analysis streams:

• Thematic analysis and coding: Stream 1 involved investigating reoccurring themes across the feedback collated. Once key themes were identified, feedback was binned to its respective theme to obtain resolution on key industry trends.
  
  
• Machine learning analysis: Stream 2 of the analysis involved running the collated feedback through a machine learning algorithm (powered by natural language processing) that identifies key themes. This was a second layer of analysis meant to reinforce the robustness of the thematic analysis and establish key industry trends.

Output from both streams was then collated to rank responses (on a thematic level) with the highest incidence. This allows us to be transparent about feedback that we have collated and organise responses based on industry priorities.ⁱ

Note: Potential actions are only indicative of how we could respond to the feedback we have received. These are subject to shifting priorities as relating to our remit, our instructions from DEWR, stakeholder consultations, and other safety and urgent industry needs and trends.