Week in Review - 24 September 2011

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It's been a big news week for the resource industry in Australia. The recommendations of the National Resources Sector Employment Task Force (NRSET) are beginning to take affect with several announcements about new programs to train, reskill and upskill Australian workers. Let the resource boom roll! We're sharing the best stuff we read this week.

AMMA

Industry partnership to address critical mining skills shortage - Resource industry employer group AMMA has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of several Critical Skills Investment industry partnerships designed to ease critical skills shortages on resource projects.

Australian Labor News

Critical Skills Fund To Deliver Training To Thousands Of Workers - Thousands of workers in the resource, construction, infrastructure and renewable energy sectors will benefit from $28 million of Australian Government funding to ease critical skills shortages.

Formation Of The Resources Advisory Council - Business and unions leaders in the resources sector have committed to work in partnership with the Australian Government to increase productivity and competitiveness, create jobs and improve the skills of workers in the sector.

The Australian

New resources group established - INDUSTRY and union groups will establish a resources sector advisory body to help ensure "historically high levels of capital investment" in the sector aren't undermined by a labour and skills squeeze.

Skills programs consolidated - THE federal government's new workforce planning agency will be fast-tracked, and several training programs will be consolidated into a "one-stop-shop" for employers, under initiatives announced yesterday by Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans.

Finance News Network

Resources Commentary: Australia's gas leak - Australia is emerging, or almost has emerged, as a major gas hub. Federal resources and energy minister Martin Ferguson said that means two things: 'A wealth of career options for young Australians, and a path to enhanced energy security for Australia and our trading partners.'

The Queensland Times

Girls who'd dig a job in the mines - IPSWICH women are signing up in their droves for an opportunity to address the gender imbalance in the Queensland mining industry.

WA Today

Pregnant mother rules the roost at Pilbara mine site - Few would say that pregnant mother-of-one Sinead Kaufman is afraid of getting her hands dirty. She entered the macho mining industry 13 years ago as the only female at the bottom of an underground copper mine in South Africa and has since embraced Australia's desolate outback to rise to the highest echelons of the country's leading iron ore company Rio Tinto.

Got time for more reading? Have a look at our Careers and Industry Guide. There's enough information to keep you busy all day.