The Gold Industry Group hosted its sixth annual networking sundowner with 150 guests on Wednesday 15 June at QT Perth, celebrating the gold industry’s community impact, sharing its latest activities, and acknowledging the vital contribution of its Gold Class Facilitators through the highly regarded Gold Class Awards.

Gold Industry Group Chair and Gold Fields Vice President of Legal and Compliance Kelly Carter opened the evening by welcoming respected Noongar man and leader of the Wadumbah Dance Group, Mr James T Webb, who delivered the Welcome to Country and captivated the audience with a lively digeridoo performance.

Ms Carter highlighted the Group’s Gold Jobs online hub which is playing a critical role driving a new talent pipeline into the industry and attracting significant interest in the sector.

The unique one-stop-shop of jobs and career-focused information on Australia’s diverse and thriving gold sector has attracted more than 150,000 Australians and featured thousands of jobs from 16 leading gold companies since its inception two years ago.

GIG Chair and Gold Fields Vice President of Legal and Compliance Kelly Carter

“It’s fantastic that members’ see the Gold Industry Group as a key partner in promoting their employer brand and assisting with their talent acquisition strategy,” Ms Carter said.

“In this current tight labour market Gold Jobs is showcasing the various roles and opportunities on offer in the gold industry and assisting members in reaching a wider, more targeted audience.”

Western Australia’s Minister for Mines and Petroleum Honourable Bill Johnston MLA provided an address before joining Ms Carter on stage for a Q&A, sharing his experiences in the gold sector and vision for the industry’s future.

Minister Johnston spoke to the immense strength of Western Australia's resources sector and discussed plans to accelerate exploration and mining approvals and assist with the industry’s transition to a net zero future.

West Coast Fever captain Courtney Bruce and defender Stacey Francis-Bayman

Mr Johnston said the gold industry was in a unique position to sell itself as a premier employment destination and encouraged the sector to showcase its impact on local communities.

Guests were also treated to an insightful Q&A with West Coast Fever superstar defenders Stacey Francis-Bayman and captain Courtney Bruce ahead of their Suncorp Super Netball finals campaign.

Minister Johnston with Evolution Mining Community Relations Officer Tara Rout.

The players discussed their incredibly driven playing group and spoke highly of recent visits to Gold Industry Group member sites and rural communities, providing them the opportunity to connect with locals and passionate gold workers.

“Firstly, just being able to see young netballers in their own environment has been fantastic, but also being able to go out to sites and learn about the mining world and the correlations between our environment and your environment has been really exciting,” Ms Bruce said.

“Everyone I met spoke so highly of the industry, and they absolutely loved their jobs. There’s lots of passionate people, and I think when you’ve got people who are passionate about what they do then they bring their absolute best self to work,” Ms Francis-Bayman said.

The Gold Industry Group is extremely proud to be a major partner of the West Coast Fever for the 4th year this season, as well as being the principal partner of Netball WA and major partner of Shooting Stars, supporting every level of the sport across the State and beyond.

The Gold Industry Group concluded formalities with the presentation of its prestigious annual Gold Class Awards, recognising the vital contribution of its Gold Class Facilitators in inspiring the future industry leaders of Australia’s gold industry through the delivery of Gold Class Sessions.

Evolution Mining Community Relations Officer Tara Rout won the top honour, Gold Class Facilitator of the Year for 2021, for delivering six Gold Class Sessions in 2021 across both primary and secondary schools and received amazing feedback. Gold Fields received the award for Company of the Year for a second year running, with nine Gold Class Facilitators delivering 20 sessions.

Other award winners were Gold Road Resources' Jessica Jones and Stuart Jenner, Novo Resources’ Nicole Reweti, The Perth Mint's Rosie Villalba, and Gold Fields' Jay Stafford and Daniel Borgas.

Now in its third year, the National Gold Education Program is having a huge impact in changing industry perceptions and developing the leaders of tomorrow, reaching more than 1500 schools and tens of thousands of students to date.

Ms Carter said she was thrilled to see the Program continue to flourish with amazing feedback from teachers, students, and industry champions, and thanked members for their collective efforts in building a brighter and more sustainable future for Australia’s gold industry.

“Employees are the gold sector’s greatest advocates, and the Program provides an invaluable opportunity for workers to share their enthusiasm for the industry,” Ms Carter said.

“At a time when talent is scarce and the competition for new hires is high, it has never been more important for the gold industry to ensure it is investing in building a pipeline of future talent.”

The Group launched its new Gold Class Careers Sessions nation-wide this term, to further showcase the diverse career opportunities and pathways available to students.

Read our Gold Class Awards feature article.