Regional relocation is on the rise for mine workers with young families and towns like Charters Towers are in full support.
In Charters Towers, demand for mine workers is soaring and if you’re willing to relocate, there are plenty of career opportunities with countless local mining jobs advertised in the last three months ranging from entry level to senior positions.
Steve Harper is the Principal Exploration Geologist at Ravenswood Gold and relocated to Charters Towers four years ago to take a residential mining job and live within the community.
“When people think about mining jobs, ‘fly-in, fly-out’ often springs to mind but in regions like Charters Towers, it doesn’t have to be that way.
“I have three school aged children, I work for Ravenswood Gold, and I get to come home to the kids and my wife every weekend instead of every two, three or four weeks. It’s nice a change spending the countless hours I used to rack up with a FIFO job with my family.”
And it’s not just the work-life balance that attracted Steve to Charters Towers.
“The education opportunities for my kids in Charters Towers are better than any other school I’ve seen of a similar size, and I like that students come from all over Australia, they’re not just from Queensland.
“There are also numerous sporting opportunities for kids in the region with rugby league and union, motocross, basketball and swimming,” he said.
Steve grew up in Melbourne and has lived around the world, settling in Charters Towers in 2018.
“I could live in Brisbane, but I don’t want to. I prefer to be close to home, because if something goes wrong, I’m only 50 minutes away. And that’s important to me.
“Professionally, mine workers have a choice of working at three mines with more to come, plus countless exploration opportunities,” he said.
Steve’s wife Catherine also works in Ravenswood as a teacher aide at a local school.
“That’s the best bit, now we can have lunch together every day.
“Relocating to Charters Towers was a move I made for my career and my family. I have no doubt that as soon as other workers get here, see the place and immerse themselves in the community, they’ll be happy they made the change,” he concluded.