Aworldwide employment survey of over 2 000 mining professionals by global energy and resources recruitment group EarthStream has shown that the mining employment market is becoming increasingly centred on working conditions.

The survey was conducted in different countries, including Australia, Canada, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Chile, Brazil, Mozam- bique, Indonesia and Mongolia, during the second week of January. The results show that the most significant motivation, with a score of 35.8%, was working culture, followed by money at 24.7%. Shift flexibility comes in last at 6.2%.

“Salaries and remunerations will always form a fundamental and primary driver when candidates select a new position. The results were heavily weighted towards working conditions this year because of varying factors,” says EarthStream CEO Kevin Gibson.

“These factors include the amount of time expatriates spend on site away from their homes, the number of projects done globally, where the working conditions are below standard and technical staff in the resources sector are most often project driven. By this we mean that most of them would like to see a project from ‘cradle to grave’. Poor working conditions adversely affect employees’ ability and desire to see this through to fruition,” explains Gibson.

The results have shown that a creative and positive working culture is what most job seekers want.

EarthStream predicts that the ‘war’ for talent will intensify in 2012 and that companies that succeed in delivering on projects will be those that are creative and pro- active when securing talent.

“There are a number of reasons why the talent war will intensify, such as the demand from China, which has a multicountry commodity approach and, despite having a lot of resources domestically, elects to ‘mine’ in other countries as a priority; the ongoing demand for gold as people look to buy it as a hedge against currency uncertainty; and the demand for iron-ore from the developing mining markets.

“The race to address the imbalance in rare-earth elements production away from China and the inevitable increase in energy demand in emerging markets are driving coal exploration and production.

All these factors amplify the ageing workforce phenomenon, with so much expertise reaching retirement age at present. For example the average age of a mining engineer is close to 55, which is exacerbated by low intakes in the 1990s.

“There is also growing demand for better working conditions from candidates wanting to be placed in mining. People are becoming more particular about their living quarters and the activities that are available on site. People will also look for projects that will enable them to advance their careers.”