As ABC News reports, the new program “Pathways to the Pilbara” trains Indigenous people from East Australia in basic skills needed on a mine site. The program is an opportunity to minimize the unemployment rate of Indigenous Australians and to fill the lack of workers on mine sites in Western Australia.
Kim McClymans, from training company Auscom, said:
“At the moment we’re taking people from zero experience in mining, showing them the basics in safety, environmental communication, first aid, and off-road … to be able to work in the Pilbara, which is a region unto itself. […] We’re finding that they’re very open, very eager and learning a hell of a lot.”