How to get a mining apprenticeship in Australia

The realistic routes in

There's more than one door into a mine site trade. Most people only know about the big company intakes, but a lot of mine site tradies came in another way. If you work several routes at once, your odds go up a lot.

• •Direct intake at a miner: BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and other owner operators run yearly apprentice programs. These are the hardest to get into.
• •Mining contractor: companies like Thiess run their own national apprentice programs and place you on the projects they're running for mine owners.
• •Equipment (OEM) dealer: Caterpillar dealers such as WesTrac (WA and NSW) and Hastings Deering (Queensland and NT) train diesel fitters, auto electricians and other trades in workshops and on customer sites.
• •Group training organisation (GTO): the GTO is your legal employer and places you with a host business, sometimes rotating you between hosts.
• •A town workshop first: an apprenticeship at a heavy diesel, hydraulics, fabrication or electrical business in a mining town, then a move to site once you're qualified.
• •School-based and pre-apprenticeship pathways: a Certificate II pre-apprenticeship or a school-based start that makes your application stronger.
• •From inside the industry: start as an operator, trade assistant or trainee, then apply for internal or adult apprentice programs.

Miners, contractors and dealers: who you'd actually work for

A miner (owner operator) employs you directly on its own sites. Programs are usually four years, run in big intakes, and in WA they often come in FIFO and residential versions. BHP's careers site has run separate intakes for its WA iron ore, South Australian copper, Queensland coal (BMA) and NSW coal operations. Fortescue's program covers electricians, heavy vehicle mechanics, fixed plant mechanics, fabricators and light vehicle mechanics, and moves apprentices between sites.

A contractor moves you between the projects it runs for mine owners. Thiess, for example, offers diesel fitter, auto electrician, boilermaker/welder and high voltage electrician apprenticeships, pays your college fees, and runs two recruitment intakes a year. You may see more sites and more types of gear, but your location depends on which contracts the company holds.

An OEM dealer is a different job again. WesTrac and Hastings Deering apprentices learn on Caterpillar gear in big workshops and in the field, and WesTrac's program runs out of towns like Port Hedland, Karratha, Newman and Tom Price as well as Perth and regional NSW. Dealer apprentices often live in a regional town rather than on a roster, which suits some people better.

A GTO can be a way into a host business that doesn't want to run its own program. The trade-off is that your host can change during your apprenticeship. Ask any GTO which mining or mining-supply hosts it actually places apprentices with before you sign up.

The back door: start in town, then move to site

Ask around any crib room and you'll hear the same story. Plenty of tradies did their time at a diesel workshop, rebuild shop, hydraulics business, fabrication shop or electrical contractor in Mackay, Emerald, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, the Hunter or Perth, then went to site once they had their ticket.

This route gets overlooked because it isn't badged as mining. But mining towns are full of businesses that service mine gear, and many of them take apprentices who never applied to a big intake. Once you're qualified, you're competing for tradie jobs, not apprentice places, and that's a much bigger pool of jobs.

One warning. Some company programs won't take you if you've already started an apprenticeship in the same trade. Thiess says this in its application requirements. So don't sign up to a town apprenticeship and plan to jump ship in second year. Commit to finishing it.

Still at school: school-based and pre-apprenticeship options

If you're in Years 10 to 12, the best thing you can do is pass Maths and English and get a driver's licence as soon as you're old enough. Most programs list sound results in both subjects as a minimum. Thiess asks for Year 10, and Hastings Deering asks school leavers for Year 12, with relevant work experience considered instead in some cases.

In Queensland, the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) runs a schools program with the resources industry that gives students site visits, workshops and contacts. In WA, pre-apprenticeship courses such as the Certificate II in Engineering (Mechanical: Plant Mechanic Pre-Apprenticeship) teach the basics of servicing loaders, dozers and haul trucks, and some are offered to school students through pre-apprenticeship in schools programs. Check your state's training site for what's running near you.

A pre-apprenticeship doesn't guarantee a spot. What it does is show a recruiter you've used tools, can follow safety rules and actually want the trade. A part-time job, a sports team or a car you rebuilt in the shed all help for the same reason.

Adults, and people already working in mining

You don't have to be a school leaver. Thiess drops its Year 10 requirement for applicants over 21 and encourages mature-age applicants, Hastings Deering welcomes career changers, and BHP's WA intakes have targeted both school leavers and mature-age people. Being an adult is often an advantage: many FIFO apprenticeships require you to be 18 by the start date, and recruiters like people who have held down a job.

If you're already on site as an operator, trade assistant, utility or trainee, you're in a strong spot. Big miners run internal or staff apprentice programs, and existing employees are usually told to apply through the internal jobs portal instead of the external intake. Get to know the maintenance supervisors, ask to help out in the workshop, and make sure your safety record is clean.

Be honest with yourself about money. Going from an operator's wage to an apprentice wage can be a big drop, even with adult apprentice rates. Read the enterprise agreement before you apply, so you know what an adult apprentice actually earns on that site.

When intakes open and how competitive they are

Most big programs recruit once a year for a start the following January or February. Applications usually open somewhere around May to July. For example, Hastings Deering's intake for 2027 opened on 18 May 2026 and closed on 14 June 2026, with online testing closing a week later. WesTrac runs one intake a year, while Thiess runs two. Windows are often only a few weeks long, and late applications usually aren't accepted.

Expect heavy competition. Hastings Deering told trade press it received a record 2,695 applications for 40 places in its 2021 intake. The big miners don't publish their numbers, but a bigger brand doesn't mean better odds.

Set up job alerts on every company's careers site now, and register for any expression of interest list. Fortescue has run expressions of interest for future intakes, and Thiess runs an ongoing EOI. Then you'll hear when the next window opens rather than finding out after it's closed.

What recruiters screen for

Requirements vary by company and site, so read every posting line by line. These are the things that come up again and again.

• •Driver's licence: a current licence is close to universal. Some programs accept learner or provisional licences, others want a C class with P plates, and Thiess says a manual licence is preferred.
• •Age: FIFO roles commonly require you to be 18 by the start date. Some residential and workshop programs take 17 year olds.
• •Location: some intakes are for people who already live in a particular town (Fortescue has run Hedland residential-only apprenticeships), and WA FIFO intakes generally expect you to live in WA. Many don't pay for relocation.
• •Work rights: you'll need the right to work in Australia, and some dealers require citizenship or permanent residency.
• •School results: sound Maths and English, usually Year 10 or Year 12, or relevant work experience for mature-age applicants.
• •Aptitude: online tests covering numeracy, literacy and mechanical reasoning.
• •Fitness and medical: a pre-employment medical. Mine work involves heat, heavy lifting, climbing and long shifts.
• •Drug and alcohol: a pre-employment test, then random testing on site for the rest of your career.
• •Police and background checks: common, especially for adults. Hastings Deering does police checks for applicants over 18, and BHP lists police, right-to-work and reference checks.
• •Attitude: safety awareness, reliability, and whether you can work in a team on 12-hour shifts. This gets judged at the interview and the group activities.

How to write an application that gets you shortlisted

Treat it like a job application, not a school form. Recruiters sort through big piles fast, so make yours easy to say yes to.

• •Answer every pre-screening question and attach every document. Incomplete applications are often binned without being read.
• •Write a short resume with your part-time jobs, volunteering, sport and hands-on hobbies. Holding down a job while at school shows you're reliable.
• •Write a short cover letter saying why you want this trade with this company. Mention something specific, like the gear they run or the site you'd work at.
• •Choose your trade and site preferences carefully. Some programs only let you pick a first and second preference, and residential versus FIFO is a real choice.
• •Use a sensible email address and answer your phone. Check your junk folder during recruitment.
• •Never pay anyone to apply. Real recruiters don't charge fees, and companies like Thiess and BHP warn about fake job offers.

Aptitude tests, assessment centres and pre-employment checks

Most programs follow the same pattern: online application, online tests, an assessment day for the shortlist, then pre-employment checks and an offer. Thiess's recruitment day includes an interview, group activities and literacy and numeracy testing. Hastings Deering's engagement centre adds more testing and an interview. WesTrac has used tests followed by an assessment centre.

To prepare for the online tests, practise basic maths without a calculator (fractions, percentages, measurements and unit conversions), reading comprehension, and mechanical reasoning questions about gears, levers, pulleys and simple circuits. Free practice tests are easy to find. Do them under a timer, in a quiet room, when you're fresh.

On the assessment day, the group activities are about how you work with people, not who's loudest. Listen, help others get involved, and keep safety in the conversation. For the interview, have two or three true stories ready about a time you worked hard, fixed something or dealt with a problem. Turn up early, dress neatly, and don't pretend to know things you don't.

After an offer comes the medical and the drug and alcohol test. Coal adds extra steps. In Queensland, coal mine workers need a health assessment, including a chest X-ray, before starting and when changing employers, arranged and paid for by the employer. NSW coal has its own Coal Services health assessment, and there are site inductions on top of that. Our guide to mine site medicals and inductions (Mine site medicals, drug tests and inductions: what to expect) covers what to expect.

If you miss out, and whether moving to WA or Queensland helps

Missing out is normal. If you got to the assessment day, ask for feedback and apply again next round. Recruiters notice people who come back better prepared.

In the meantime, build your case. Take a town workshop apprenticeship in a relevant trade, do a pre-apprenticeship, or get any job in or around mining: utility, labour hire, a hire company yard, a parts counter or a TA role. Each one gives you a licence, references and contacts.

Moving can help, but only if you do it properly. Most of mining's jobs are in WA and Queensland, mostly in the regions. In WA the work is in Pilbara iron ore and Goldfields gold. In Queensland it's Bowen Basin coal around Moranbah, Emerald and Mackay, plus Mount Isa. In NSW it's Hunter Valley coal, with more mines in the central west, and there's mining in SA and the NT too. Living in a mining town gets you into residential and DIDO roles, local workshops and local-only intakes. It also makes you look serious.

Don't move blind, though. Rent in some mining towns can be brutal, and many programs don't pay relocation. Line up work first, or at least know how you'll cover rent while you keep applying. Our state guides for WA (Apprenticeships in WA: incentives, fees and where to start), Queensland (Apprenticeships in Queensland: incentives, free training and where to start) and NSW (Apprenticeships in NSW: incentives, fee-free training and where to start) cover how apprenticeships work in each state, and mining apprenticeship programs in Australia (Mining apprenticeship programs in Australia: who hires and when) lists the main employers.

Pay, and whether mining is right for you

Most mining apprentices are paid under the company's enterprise agreement, not the minimum award rates. Agreements usually build in shift and roster allowances, site or remote loadings and overtime, so two apprentices in the same trade can earn quite differently depending on employer and site. Before you accept, look up the employer's agreement on the Fair Work Commission's agreements search and check the basics with the Fair Work Pay Calculator (calculate.fairwork.gov.au). Jobs and Skills Australia data shows mining's median weekly earnings sit well above the all-industries median, but that's for the whole workforce, not apprentices.

Pick the trade first and the industry second. Diesel fitters, mechanical fitters, electricians, auto electricians and boilermakers are the core mine site trades. See best trades for mining jobs (The best trades for getting on the mines) and our hubs for diesel mechanic (Diesel Mechanic Apprentice Hub), fitter and turner (Fitter and Turner Apprentice Hub), electrical (Electrical Apprentice Hub), auto electrician (Auto Electrician Apprentice Hub) and welding (Welding Apprentice Hub).

Mining isn't for everyone. Rosters, time away, 12-hour shifts in the heat, camp life and being a long way from your mates all take a toll, and underground work is a different world again from open pit. Read FIFO mining life: pros and cons (FIFO mining life for apprentices: the honest pros and cons) before you go all in.