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MTEC Key Performance Measures Report 2018

The Minerals Tertiary Education Council (MTEC) was  established in 2000 by the MCA to build capacity in Australia’s higher education sector and to increase the supply and quality  of suitably qualified professionals for the minerals industry.

Minerals higher education in Australia experienced strong growth in enrolments across minerals-related disciplines from 2004 to 2012, as a result of the unprecedented growth within Australia’s minerals industry. Since 2012 the industry has moved from the construction to production phase, with consequential lower demand in certain disciplines, mostly in civil and mechanical construction. Decline in labour demand has been exacerbated by falls in commodity prices, which in turn has impacted on the pipeline of new professionals in the key disciplines of mining engineering, metallurgy and minerals geoscience.

Undergraduate intakes for most minerals higher education disciplines in Australia have experienced notable declines. Lower bulk commodity prices, rationalisation at the company level, the rise of anti-mining activism and the way that these issues have been widely covered in news and social media, have likely contributed to a post-boom sentiment that might explain the pronounced drop off in enrolments over the past few years since 2012. Mining engineering enrolments continue to be dramatically lower in the 1st year and are at their lowest since 2000. This will result in significantly decreased graduates in coming years, following consecutive years (2012 and 2013) of highest ever enrolments and ensuing graduates in this discipline. Metallurgy enrolments similarly are at their lowest since 2000 years with fewer graduates expected in forthcoming years.

MTEC modelling for the next four years to 2021 indicates a significant drop in enrolments in the vital minerals-related disciplines of mining engineering and metallurgy

Read the full report:  MTEC Key Performance Measures Report 2018.pdf