Fuelling your career abroad

Fuel your energy, mining or engineering career by meeting overseas employers

Open any newspaper (or more likely these days, browse online via your favourite Apple device) and you’ll see the energy, mining and engineering industries are booming around the world. Fuelled by global demand for resources; government investment in infrastructure; or – in the very specific case of Christchurch, New Zealand – an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild a city, these industries are thriving.

Yet they’re also suffering from acute skill shortages, due in part to an ageing workforce beginning its downshift to retirement or a lack of students being enticed to train. Increasingly, those countries affected – such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand – are looking overseas to fill these skill gaps. Internationally recognised qualifications coupled with world-class experience means employers from these countries are keen to meet skilled professionals from overseas.

Explore your overseas opportunities

This November, you can meet a range of energy, mining and engineering industry employers at the Opportunities Overseas Expos in South Africa (Johannesburg) plus the UK and Ireland (London, Dublin, Aberdeen and Manchester).

You could meet Cameco. They’re a leading uranium producer from Canada who’ll be at the Jo’burg expo, looking to recruit construction managers (mining), senior metallurgists, senior project managers and senior engineers. EMS Recruitment and the Present Group from Australia will also be in Jo’burg, seeking senior mining engineers and head geotechnical engineers, amongst other roles.

Brierty Contractors from Australia will be in London and Manchester searching for civil project engineers and managers and quantity surveyors, plus more.

New Zealand opportunities include OMV New Zealand – a leading oil and gas producer based in the beautiful Taranaki region – who’ll be visiting London and Aberdeen. There’s also Truck Investments Group in Dublin and Manchester, looking for ready mixed concrete delivery drivers and heavy goods vehicle mechanics, amongst others.

Finally, if you’d like to be part of the Christchurch rebuild, come along and meet representatives from the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team. Leading multi-national companies Beca, Downer and Opus will be in London, Manchester and Dublin offering engineering and construction roles in Christchurch and throughout New Zealand.

Find out more

More job roles and further details of the industries represented at the Opportunities Overseas Expos, plus event dates and locations, can be found at Working In Events.

Three things we’ve learnt about Australia, Canada and New Zealand

The Lonely Planet is in love with Auckland – are you?

The following industry and job-related news has popped up this week from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Australia – the mining boom has helped other industries too

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RSA) has announced that the mining boom has helped to cut unemployment in regions well outside of the mining epicentres, like Queensland and West Australia. As well as the demand for workers in the mining sector having a positive effect on the national employment rate, the RSA reckons that improvements to the industrial relations system means the Australian workforce is more flexible than it was 20 years ago.

Did you know half of Australia’s 68 regions have an unemployment rate of below five per cent (and only three had an unemployment rate of above eight per cent)? The Age has the full story.

Canada – mining still strong

In the face of some global economic gloom, Canada’s miners remain optimistic – especially gold mining. Since September, seven of the top 10 best performing mining stocks are gold ones. See more at the Globe and Mail.

New Zealand – Auckland is number 1 (and 2)

Auckland, New Zealand’s city of sails, has been described as ‘geographically blessed’ with a ‘vibrant Polynesian culture’ by the Lonely Planet. It fell in love with Auckland, especially its access to two oceans, and this was reflected in its list of the country’s top 20 experiences. At the top of this list was Auckland Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf, followed by urban Auckland – beating tourist favourites Queenstown, Milford Sound, Waitomo Caves and the Bay of Islands.

“Auckland isn’t your average metropolis,” the guide says. “It’s regularly rated one of the world’s most liveable cities, and while it’s never going to challenge NYC or London in the excitement stakes, it’s blessed with good beaches, flanked by wine regions and has a large enough population to support a thriving dining, drinking and live-music scene. Cultural festivals are celebrated with gusto in this ethnically diverse city, which has the distinction of having the world’s largest Pacific Island population.”

Well, if it’s good enough for the Lonely Planet…

Gannets, Kiwis and Fly In Fly Out (FIFO)

Our Marketing Manager Julie takes a quirky look at the Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) mining job opportunities and what they have in common with the local bird life:

What is the difference between a gannet, a kiwi and FIFO?

Two are high fliers, and the other is a flightless native bird.

Well, to be totally factual, the dear kiwi has no real choices on being grounded, coupled with being an endangered species treasured by New Zealanders. Now the gannet is a whole other story, having the freedom to fly around the world, eking out a living, meeting up with old friends and making new ones.

Then there’s FIFO (a.k.a. fly in fly out) which is not a feathered bird (but let’s not forget that flight is the operative word here) but best known by miners and mining companies who bid for miners then fly them out to billion dollar mining projects. So, miners and gannets both share a common goal – of making a living involving the move from one country to another.

Miners’ specialisation, skills and motivation to move to other countries means they have opportunities galore to live and learn new cultures, and can potentially earn a good living to support themselves and their families.

Did you know?

• Mining companies will make bids to attract miners
• There are great locations in Western Australia and Latin America
• Accommodation and meals are provided in comfortable environments
• You have the chance to go home on a regular basis

Now getting back to the moral of story, you may see there are a few parallels between our gannet and the FIFO miner, while the kiwi bird is clearly a rank outsider with no ability to take flight. Unlike you – so visit our website and check out those hot jobs and start your FIFO missions – what are you waiting for?

Australia, Canada & New Zealand in the news – Sept 10-17th

Minister Kenney congratulates Gaurav Gore, Canada’s 20,000th permanent resident through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) – Ottawa, Ontario

Keep up to date with the latest news from Australia, Canada and New Zealand:

Canada: new visa designed for entrepreneurs plus Canadian Experience Class success

In the wake of Canada’s immigration policy changes, they’re still busy beavering away with further changes and improvements, this time by introducing the startup visa – aimed at immigrant entrepreneurs.

The idea behind it is that venture investment funds would choose entrepreneurs to invest in who the government would then try to clear for entry into Canada within weeks – the perfect marriage of Canadian money and foreign brains.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s press secretary Alexis Pavlich says:

“This program will link brilliant, job-creating, immigrant entrepreneurs with Canadian investors. We want the world’s best and brightest to come to Canada – to start businesses and to create jobs in Canada.”

The Globe and Mail has the full story.

In a related story, Canada has welcomed its 20,000th permanent resident through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) stream. The CEC stream is Canada’s fastest growing economic immigration program, offering a pathway to permanent residency for international student graduates and others with skilled work experience in Canada. Read more at Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

New Zealand: being Kiwi

New Zealand’s national paper, The New Zealand Herald, has undergone a makeover to a new, compact format. To celebrate, they launched a week-long series about what it means to be a Kiwi these days. It makes pretty interesting reading for anyone planning on making the move.

It kicked off with an article about what it means to be a Kiwi, especially now that almost a quarter of NZ residents are overseas-born, rising to almost 40 per cent in Auckland. Words like “sporty”, “outdoors”, “adventurous” and “friendly” all popped up when describing Kiwis.

Another article explained that nearly one in four people in New Zealand today were born overseas – in 2010 it came tenth in a list of countries with foreign-born populations. Yet the article explained how new arrivals to NZ can struggle between identifying with their adopted home and their place of birth.

The waves of British expats heading to New Zealand in the 1960s and 70s have now grown up and are having their say about why they moved to New Zealand and how being a migrant has shaped their life experiences. Like many would-be migrants these days, some were driven by ‘wanting a better life for our children’.

Over in Australia…

The news coming out of Oz is still heavily dominated by the mining boom with articles weighing in one side or the other. At least the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey shows the employment outlook for the mining and construction sector in the coming quarter is up 10 per cent. The full detailed report can be viewed here.

Australia mining: boom or bust?

The Australian mining boom has dominated the press lately, both in the southern hemisphere and on a global level, polarising opinion over whether it really is booming or is bust. Having enjoyed an unprecedented surge of success, reflected in high salaries, a thriving economy and towns springing up to accommodate the high volumes of workers, fears are growing (or perhaps just media coverage) that Australia’s mining boom is slowing down. Here’s a look at what’s been in the news:

The mining bubble has burst…

It all seemed to kick off when Resources Minister Martin Ferguson announced that “You’ve got to understand the resources boom is over” – a bold statement that opened the floodgates to a rush of similar comments and fears.

The mining bubble is booming…

Yet, on the back of this came comments from Australia’s central bank chief saying there’s no sign the mining boom is over and that the resource-rich economy was growing at its potential (as reported by Reuters). This was swiftly followed up by Treasurer Wayne Swan assuring reporters that Australia still has a resources investment pipeline of half a trillion dollars and “That pipeline will be there creating wealth and in the future creating exports for Australia and we will see an export boom following this investment boom”. Business spending plans appeared to back this statement up.

So what’s going on?

Media around the world has been keen to weigh in with their thoughts, from the BBC to The Age. The opinion pieces show cautious optimism for the long-term impact of the resources projects planned in Australia – highlighting how it’s not all doom and gloom in Australia. If you’re interesting in finding out more, The Herald Sun has done a great breakdown of what’s happening with Australia’s mining boom.

Is the mine life for you?

Reckon you’ve got what it takes to work in the mines? Hays have released some interesting thoughts about who’s most suited to the mining life.

What it takes to succeed in a fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) role, according to Hays:

• A willingness to work in remote locations
• An ability to cope with the lack of services while onsite and the distance from family and friends
• A genuine interest in the industry
• The right attitude and adherence to compliance and the ability to deal with risk and rigour
• The ability to commit to a project long-term

The pros and cons of a FIFO role:

Pros

• Personal expenses can be reduced when living on site for extended periods
• Long periods off can lead to more time at home and with families
• Stronger sense of community at work
• Opportunity to pursue other pursuits in time off

Cons

• Long time away from home can impact on family and personal life negatively
• Rigid work schedules can result in important family occasions or community events being missed
• A nomadic lifestyle poses challenges to social life and to wellbeing
• Some onsite facilities don’t provide much privacy with shared rooms and bathrooms

Skill shortages in Oz & NZ

Hi again!

Great to see so many of you (9,210 altogether!) visiting us at our Opportunities Overseas Expos in London and Manchester last month, and at our Energy, Mining & Engineering expo in Aberdeen. There’s lots of great talent out there, and many of you who came along are now going through the recruitment process and getting ready for the next exciting step of your journey.

Next up, we’ll be bringing employers from NZ, Australia and Peru to Canada for the Energy, Mining & Engineering International Jobs Expo in May, so what better time to look at the areas of skill shortage, and find out just who’s in demand at the moment.

The Aussie mining boom
Everyone’s heard about the mining boom in Aussie, so it’s no surprise to find that main areas of skill shortage are connected to the mining and oil & gas sector. With a whopping US$229 billion (AU$232 billion) of committed gas projects in the pipeline, Australia has a critical shortage of experienced engineers, tradespeople and construction workers to staff up its raft of mega projects.

Calling all Senior Engineers!
Engineering shortages are biting especially hard, as major mining projects, including the massive AU$43 billion Gorgon project, exhaust the local labour supply. Australia’s national engineering body, Engineers Australia, has predicted that the country’s engineering workforce will need to double just to keep pace with the rapid development, so if you have engineering skills – especially at a senior level – you’ll be very much in demand!

Some of the roles that Aussie employers are recruiting for in Canada include well, reservoir & petroleum engineers; principal, civil, mechanical & process engineers; drilling supervisors; hydrologists; project directors and managers; health & safety managers and engineering managers.

Other energy/infrastructure specialists in demand include transmission line practitioners, waste water and water planning engineers,  site supervisors, environmental advisors and senior planners. 

Skill shortages in New Zealand
In New Zealand, the skills shortages may not be quite as intense, but the country’s growing energy sector is still short of skilled professionals, with mining specialists, engineers and geologists high on the list of those most in demand. The Christchurch rebuild is also putting the squeeze on the labour market, with engineers and skilled trades already in demand – a shortfall of up to 30,000 workers has already been forecast during the 10-20 year rebuild period.

Some of the roles that NZ employers are recruiting for at the Canada expos include mining, petroleum, geotechnical & field engineers; technical services and production superintendents; and exploration & mine geologists. Within the energy/power sector, there are roles for project engineers & managers, power system analysts, electrical network engineers, electricity asset managers, engineering analysts and substation design engineers.

Come & see us in Canada
So, if you’re in Canada, and you’re working in the oil & gas, energy, engineering or infrastructure sectors, come along and check out the jobs available in Oz & NZ (we’ll also have some jobs in Peru – again, mining-related roles including heavy diesel mechanics and truck operators!). 

We’ll be touching down in the three Canadian cities in 2012: Calgary (5-6 May) at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre; Vancouver (9 May) at the Hyatt Regency and Edmonton (12-13 May) at the Mayfield Inn & Suites.

Where to book
You can find out more about companies attending and the roles being recruited for at:
www.workingin.com/eme

CALGARY | BOOK NOW
VANCOUVER | BOOK NOW
EDMONTON | BOOK NOW

Hope to see you there!