The Wilson People Management managing director said companies should be planning now for the safety professionals they will need in the future.

“Employers must focus quickly on their future occupational health and safety needs if we are to avoid the general skills shortages and training bottlenecks that have bedevilled previous booms in the resources sector,” Wilson said.

The safety performance in Australia’s mining and petroleum sectors – as measured by low ‘lost time injury frequency rates’ – was at historically high levels with improvements in the order of 85% and 67%*, respectively, in the past decade, Wilson said, citing the latest available statistics from the Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association.

“It would be a tragedy to see these gains lost in the face of an occupational health and safety skills shortage,” he said.

Wilson said the specific skills set required in the resources sector could not be generated overnight and there was a danger that the demand for well trained professionals would outstrip supply unless the industry planned well ahead.

Wilson also added a cautionary note for people starting out in the industry.

“There is a tendency by some recently graduated safety professionals to chase the big dollars that are available when there are skills shortages in any sector,” Mr Wilson said.

“But young professionals in the safety sector really must learn to walk before they run and accumulate the knowledge and experience necessary to maintain a healthy and safe workplace,” he said.

Wilson said there were several initiatives that companies could take to avoid a shortage of skilled staff in the safety area, including:

• Offering existing employees a career path in occupational health and safety;

• Encouraging more female professionals to consider remote area assignments; and

• Sponsoring the employment of overseas graduates.

“An effective occupational health and safety regime is recognised as an integral part of the workplace across the economy and the resources sector is no exception,” Wilson said.

“However, the particular attributes of the resources sector – where exploration and development activity can quickly gather momentum as commodity prices surge – requires extra vigilance to the growing need for occupational health and safety professionals and early planning to avoid shortages.”