The shortage of skilled personnel in the mining industry is nothing new, but a particular area of concern is ventilation capacity in underground mines. Ventilation issues have been at the core of numerous health and safety issues and most disasters in coal and metalliferous operations in the past, including disease, outbursts, fires and explosions.
To ease the problem, TAFE Queensland Mining Services (TQ), in conjunction with Mine Ventilation Australia (MVA), has developed new integrated pathways for ventilation training designed to facilitate recognition of competencies throughout Australian jurisdictions and provide maximum flexibility to meet both student and employer requirements.
“The shortage of skilled personnel in both the coal and hard-rock mining industries at present is likely to persist,” MVA principal consultant Rick Brake and TQ senior training coordinator Gordon Greenhill wrote in a paper recently presented at the Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference.
“A much stronger focus on skilling the workforce and providing improved opportunities for movement of personnel between mines, employers and between industries, along with methods of delivery that fit in with the multiple requirements of workers (personal situations, residential and FIFO, varying rosters, etc) is essential if the industry is to develop a strong base of competent personnel.
“Well-trained, competent personnel are also a key factor in developing and maintaining a sustainably safe industry,” they wrote.
The duo identified a lack of accreditation consistency across states as an emerging industry problem. One example is where local state legislation requires specific mine appointments (such as ventilation officers) to be statutory positions, and the same local legislation also sets up a Board of Examiners to accredit such personnel. The Board of Examiners maintains a supervisory role regarding the certificates issued under its jurisdiction, so that if subsequent events require the board will suspend or cancel such accreditation for an individual.
“It is now the case that Certificates of Competency issued under mining legislation that has since been revoked may not be recognised by other regulators.”
The paper suggested linking statutory appointments to industry-recognised, competency-based qualifications is also a more ‘transparent’ accreditation process, with carefully defined outcomes to ensure more consistent and reliable results for the industry as a whole. It would also make it easier for people to work within different jurisdictions.
TQ and MVA have developed Australia’s first fully integrated suite of mine ventilation competencies available through the AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework). Enrolments have already been received from across Australia into a number of these competencies.
TQ Mining Services is also offering the world’s first advanced diploma in mine ventilation, which is designed to integrate seamlessly with the AQF ventilation competencies. This advanced diploma provides dual-trained ventilation specialists in both coal and metalliferous (hard-rock) applications.
Brake and Greenhill argue strongly for dual training across coal and metalliferous industries.
“It is not uncommon to see hard-rock-trained mine surveyors working in coal mines, or coal-trained electricians working in hard-rock mines, or any of a variety of other situations occurring in which workers in one industry move their skills and employment across to the other industry. There have been recent examples of mine managers and ventilation officers transferring from coal to metalliferous and vice-versa,” they said.
“It makes sense to be able to draw on workers in one sector to meet skills shortages in another sector.”
