The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) today released the report prepared by the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) on the sector’s labour force outlook to 2020.

The research projections show an increasing demand for labour if Australia is to maintain market share in global commodities markets.

The report found that the mining sector will need to employ 86,000 more operational workers, from 128,000 in 2008 to 215,000 in 2020, an increase of 68 per cent.

Almost 50,000 of those workers will be needed in Western Australia.

More than 20,000 of the new workers will be needed for iron ore and 19,000 will be needed for coal.

Most will be tradespeople and semi-skilled workers.

MCA director of education and training Chris Fraser said the research highlighted a challenge for the minerals sector.

“The labour market is already running at capacity, and this extra demand will mean it is even more critical that Australia’s chronic skills shortages are addressed and the new workers will require considerable training to ensure safety and productivity standards are maintained,” Mr Fraser said.