Coal Mining

Training snapshot

There were approximately 2,010 enrolments in Coal Mining-related qualifications during 2021, a decrease on the previous year where there were roughly 2,270 enrolments. Completions decreased between 2020 and 2021, with approximately 260 and 190 completions respectively.

During 2021, the majority of enrolments (51%) were in Certificates II & III & IV in Underground Coal Mining/Operations, which had the intended occupations of Miner or Mine Deputy. Most of the remaining portion (43%) were enrolled in the Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner), with the intended occupations of either Safety Inspector or Mine Deputy.

For enrolments during 2021, almost all of the training was delivered by private training providers (100%) and most subjects (89%) were funded via domestic fee for service arrangements.

Students who enrolled in 2021 were mainly from Queensland (72%) and New South Wales (20%), with the majority of training also delivered in Queensland (79%), followed by New South Wales (21%).

There were approximately 120 apprenticeship and traineeship commencements in 2021. Commencements declined sharply between 2012 and 2015 and then increased each year until 2018 before falling to around 30 in 2020. Apprenticeship and traineeship completions declined markedly between 2013 and 2016 and then fluctuated until a sharp increase in 2019. Completions have declined steadily since 2019 with around 30 reported in 2021. Apprentices or trainees in this sector have an intended occupation of Miner. New South Wales reported approximately 76% of apprenticeship and traineeship training, with the remaining reported by Queensland.

For more data specific to your occupation, industry group or training package, visit NCVER’s Data Builder.

For more data specific to your region visit NCVER’s Atlas of total VET.

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Industry insights on skills needs

The Mining, Drilling and Civil Infrastructure IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast identifies the top priority skills for the Coal Mining sector as:

• Digital literacy
• Workplace safety practices
• Communication skills
• Problem solving
• Environmental sustainability.

The top generic skills listed in the Skills Forecast in order of importance to the industry are:

• Managerial/Leadership
• Design mindset/Thinking critically/System thinking/Solving problems
• Learning agility/Information literacy/Intellectual autonomy and self-management (adaptability)
• Communication/Virtual collaboration/Social intelligence
• Technology.

According to the job vacancy data, the top requested generic skills by employers are communication and planning skills. The most advertised occupations in the Coal Mining sector were Other Miscellaneous Labourers, and Other Building and Engineering Technicians. The top employers for workers in this industry were Whitehaven Coal and Peabody Energy Corporation.

The Mining, Drilling and Civil Infrastructure IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast identifies several key issues affecting skills and training needs within the Coal Mining Sector:

• Clarify career progression pathways, provide greater support to develop managerial skills for leadership roles and include more transferable skills in the training products for coal mining workers
• The impact of new technologies on ways of working in the coal mining industry, particularly automated programming, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, drones and other satellite drive technologies.
• An increased safety focus among regulators and heightened awareness by firms in the sector of a social licence to operate.

Project 2D Coal Mining, discussed in the Skills Forecast, aims to address the key issues of ongoing health and safety challenges and technological change affecting the coal mining industry, and to clarify and strengthen career progression pathways for underground and open cut coal mining workers by updating the underground and open cut coal mining qualifications and units of competency. The Case for Endorsement submitted in March 2020 shows the training product changes are:

• Seven qualifications were updated to clarify and strengthen career progression pathways for entry level workers through to mine managers and mining engineering managers across underground and open cut coal mining operations.
• 56 units of competency used across underground and open cut coal mining operations were updated to reflect current industry processes and requirements and clarify training outcomes

For insights on the broader Resources industry, please visit the Mining, Drilling and Civil Infrastructure cluster page.

Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

IRC and skills forecasts

Coal Mining IRC

• Mining, Drilling and Civil Infrastructure IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast

• IRC membership

• PwC’s Skills for Australia – Skills Service Organisation

Relevant research

Case for Endorsement: 1L Blasting Methods, 1N Geotechnical Risks in Quarries, 1O Construction Materials Testing, 2B Common Skills, 2C/2G Drilling and Exploration, 2D Coal Mining – PwC’s Skills for Australia (document can be found under Release heading)

Regulators

Australasian Explosives Industry and Safety Group (AEISG)

Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade – Mining and Energy

NSW Government Resources Regulator

Queensland Department of Resources

South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA)

Tasmanian Department of State Growth

Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions – Mining and resources

Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

Safety regulators

Access Canberra

NT WorkSafe

Safe Work Australia

SafeWork SA

SafeWork NSW

WorkSafe Queensland

WorkSafe Tasmania

WorkSafe Victoria

WorkSafe Western Australia

Industry associations and advisory bodies

For industry associations and advisory bodies specific to Civil Infrastructure, Drilling, Extractive Industries and Metalliferous Mining sectors, please visit the respective pages.

Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association (AREEA) (formerly AMMA)

Coal Services

Commissioner for Resources Safety and Health

Mine Managers Association of Australia (MMAA)

Minerals Council of Australia (MCA)

Mining, Equipment, Technology and Services Growth Centre (METS Ignited)

NSW Mining and Petroleum Competence Board

State training advisory bodies

Building, Construction, Resources and Infrastructure Training Advisory Body (BCRITAB) (NSW)

Energy Skills Queensland (ESQ)

Industry Skills Advisory Council Northern Territory (ISAC NT)

Resources Industry Training Council (RITCWA)

Employee associations

Australian Workers' Union (AWU)

Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU).

Department of Employment 2021, Industry Employment Projections, viewed 1 August 2021, Labour Market Information Portal

• by ANZSIC 2 digit industry, employment projections to May 2025
  
  • 06 Coal Mining.

National Skills Commission 2022, Occupation Employment Projections viewed 10 August 2022, https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/topics/employment-projections

• by ANZSCO, selected 4 digit occupations, employment projections to May 2026
  
  • 7122 Drillers Miners and Shot Firers
  • 3232 Metal Fitters and Machinists
  • 3129 Other Building and Engineering Technicians.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022, 6291.0.55.001 - EQ06 - Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, viewed 1 August 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/may-2022

• Employed total by ANZSIC 2 digit '06 Coal Mining', 2002 to 2022, May Quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.

• Employment level by:
  
  • 06 Coal Mining industry
  • 4 digit level occupations to identify the relevant VET-related occupations in the industry as a proportion of the total workforce.

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training package or qualifications:

RII - Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Package:

• Certificate II & III & IV in Underground Coal Mining / Operations
  
  • RII20309 - Certificate II in Underground Coal Mining
  • RII20313 - Certificate II in Underground Coal Mining
  • RII20315 - Certificate II in Underground Coal Mining
  • RII20320 – Certificate II in Underground Coal Mining
  • RII30209 - Certificate III in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII30212 - Certificate III in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII30213 - Certificate III in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII30215 - Certificate III in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII30218 - Certificate III in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII30220 – Certificate III in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII40409 - Certificate IV in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII40411 - Certificate IV in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII40412 - Certificate IV in Underground Coal Operations.
  • RII40413 - Certificate IV in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII40415 - Certificate IV in Underground Coal Operations
  • RII40420 – Certificate IV in Underground Coal Operations
• Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner)
  
  • RII40209 - Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner)
  • RII40212 - Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner)
  • RII40213 - Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner)
  • RII40215 - Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner)
  • RII40220 – Certificate IV in Surface Coal Mining (Open Cut Examiner)
• Diploma & Advanced Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  
  • RII50909 - Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII50912 - Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII50913 - Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII50915 - Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII50920 – Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII60309 - Advanced Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII60312 - Advanced Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII60313 - Advanced Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII60315 - Advanced Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
  • RII60320 – Advanced Diploma of Underground Coal Mining Management
• Advanced Diploma of Surface Coal Mining Management
  
  • RII60709 - Advanced Diploma of Surface Coal Mining Management
  • RII60713 - Advanced Diploma of Surface Coal Mining Management
  • RII60715 - Advanced Diploma of Surface Coal Mining Management
  • RII60720 – Advanced Diploma of Surface Coal Mining Management.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

• 2017 to 2021 program enrolments
• 2017 to 2021 subject enrolments
• 2017 to 2021 program completions.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

RII Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:

• 2012 to 2021 commencements.
• 2012 to 2021 completions
• apprentices and trainees in-training October to December 2021 collection, by qualification and state and territory of data submitter.

Job vacancy data have been extracted from Lightcast 2022, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Boston, viewed August 2022, https://lightcast.io/apac.

Data shown represent most requested generic skills and occupations according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2019 and June 2022 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.

• Generic skills / Occupations
  
  • Machinery Operators and Drivers, Technicians and Trades Workers, Labourers
  • 06 Coal Mining
• Employers
  
  • 8999 Other Miscellaneous Labourers
  • 7122 Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers
  • 3411 Electricians
  • 3129 Other Building and Engineering Technicians
  • 3232 Metal Fitters and Machinists
  • 7331 Truck Drivers
  • 06 Coal Mining.