The Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia, the Queensland Resources Council and SkillsDMC will be working collaboratively on policy development and the implementation of skills initiatives as part of the three year agreement.

A joint statement released by the organisations said projects under the MoU included providing and implementing a national skills policy for the resources sector.

It also aims to provide timely workforce planning dates to support skills advocacy functions with state and federal governments, as well as establish lead agencies for projects and issues to maximise the strengths and opportunities provided by the MoU partners.

CME chief executive officer Reg Howard-Smith said the WA and Queensland resource sectors were both facing a significant period of project development where “tens of thousands” of additional workers would be required over the next few years.

It is estimated that the WA sector alone will require an extra 33,000 workers by the end of 2012.

“Our ability to source skilled labour will prove vital in the delivery of projects on time and on budget,” Howard-Smith said.

“Where there is mutual benefit this new, non-binding collaboration allows the partners to work towards securing policy and initiatives that will underpin national prosperity for decades to come.”

Meanwhile, QRC CEO Michael Roche believed this was a unique collaboration between the key mining states as well as the training and education sector to address a complex, national issue.

“The MoU comes at a crucial moment in time to work towards ensuring the development and long-term sustainability of the resources sector in Queensland and Australia,” Roche said.

“In the wake of a record $A31 billion of new investment recently committed in Queensland alone by liquefied natural gas developers, it is imperative we band together in order to meet the sector’s increasing workforce needs to support this unprecedented growth.

“No single state can resolve the skills issues we face on its own.”