Intersections of Community, Industry, Education and Mining – Identifying Pathways to Support Workforce Development

Globally, there is increasing demand for critical minerals, including those required for the transition to clean energy. At the same time, there is growing concern about the impact of mining on communities and the environment. Concurrent to these developments, there is a global concern about future employment capacity in areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) - key areas that pertain to employment in the mining industry. The STEM pipeline issue is particularly pronounced in Tasmania, which is characterised as having a low socio-economic status and one of the lowest educational achievements in Australia. Given the complexities of the Tasmanian context, the development of a sustainable mining industry requires the consideration of the whole community.

As part of the Regional Research Collaboration (RRC) Program at the University of Tasmania, a community-based investigation is underway to develop strategies for building positive attitudes about mining within communities and identify community-relevant education opportunities that support future employment in the mining sector. Initial research from surveys and interviews indicated that though participants were aware of mining activities and believed the sector brought benefits and opportunities to their community, they were less aware of educational pathways to support entering the mining sector, or the role of schools in preparing young people for mining-based jobs and careers.

Implications of these interim findings suggest the need to address the lack of knowledge about career pathways in the mining industry, enhance accessibility to information about educational pathways to skilled jobs, and identify ways to enhance school-mining partnerships. Continued research activities, including school & community consultations will enable our team to gain a more refined understanding of public perception of mining and STEM education pathways for regional Tasmania.

This interim report provides a brief background for this research, our research approach, key findings from the surveys and interviews, implications of our initial findings along with next steps for this project.