The NSW/ACT general manager of recruitment agency Chandler Macleod, Margo Shand, said BHP was no different to "most organisations" in the black coal sector looking to boost their numbers of on-site experienced drivers.

"They have the equipment and capacity to be operating at higher levels of productivity, but without increasing the number of skilled dump truck operators they are not able to realise optimal levels of operation," Ms Shand said. "This has been the case for at least the last two years but of course, has become more acute since COVID."

The reduced number of skilled migrant workers coming to Australia due to COVID had created a shortage of candidates across all industry sectors, she said, including mining and resources.

"Due to this broad skills shortage, individuals who may have previously worked as dump truck operators have moved into new roles or industries, perhaps ones that are closer in proximity to their primary place of residence. These challenging employment market conditions were exacerbated for the mining industry, with complications and disruptions to fly in fly out (FIFO) travel programs due to strict national border restrictions."

The Hunter's workforce is still nearly 20,000 workers less compared to what it was in February 2020 when the pandemic began to bite, says Hunter Business chief executive officer Bob Hawes.

"Of concern however is the continuing trend of sagging workforce participation rates remaining at or less than pre-Covid levels," Mr Hawes said. "This is in complete contrast to NSW which has recovered to its pre -pandemic participation rate. Businesses and recruitment consultants are frustrated by the challenges in finding and placing people in roles, and online job vacancies in the Hunter peaked in March 2022 at over 6,200 positions, nearly double the rate of ads seen in the months in early 2020.

"The relatively low participation rate won't be helping people looking for staff and can be viewed as indicative of people either choosing to sit on the sidelines or leave the workforce for the time being or permanently."

Lots of things were "not adding up" Mr Hawes said, requiring a regional level plan to properly understand the situation and get a better balance across workforce demand. "The situation we have in the Hunter is not just about wages, we know there are businesses out there offering well above award rates," he said.

Another challenge regarding the scarcity of experienced dump truck drivers was that it took a considerable amount of time to develop the skills required, Ms Shand said.

"The pathway to becoming a skilled dump truck operator is quite time consuming and there is significant competition in the market for these operators, hence the requirement to become more innovative in sourcing and searching for the best people in this market."

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