Question about Apprentice Chef @ the Mines.

[Dum*P*ster]

Howdy everyone, got a Q..

Would anyone know if there is such thing as Apprentice Chefs out at the mines?
If so.. How much would a apprentice make out there?
Thanks

[Ryan.mate]

well i know where i live that there are chefs as we have mess halls for the contractors ect, and there are a few chefs so there could be apprentices.
i live in tom price btw

[VT-565]

You would be working for a company like Sodhexo or the like.
I don't know of many (if any) mines that directly employ catering staff.

Good luck.

[dirt drifter]

i havent heard of any camps employing apprentices in central qld. it can be really long hours being a camp chef, have brekky ready by about 4.30am thru until 8.00am. then dinner from same times in the arvo plus cleaning time after. then put up with whining pricks who would whinge about a feed cooked by jamie oliver himself! the (qualified) cooks i knew get paid well but they bloody well earnt it

[DLFHUB666]

like VT- 565 said you will most likely workin for sodhexo an i hav never heard of them employing apprentice chefs this dosent mean they dont. i live in gove in the NT i know that sodhexo were chasing qualified chefs the other week. Should give them a call an see if they take on apprentices
good luck

[OFF T4P]

sodhexo or ess is another one. you would be better off working in the mines then being a chef out there. Most mine chefs can't cook anyways i have worked at a lot of mines and you very rairly have a good feed while ya out there.

[Dum*P*ster]

Ahhh, I see.. Hmm..
I was also planning.. Possibly, doing another Trade (Diesel Fitter) or some thing with the mines.. then in X years I'd return and continue my Chef Career..
I want to make a good life for myself..

But thanks ! I shall ring sodhexo and ess.. And see if its worth it. !
ALSO.. To be in the mines, (For QLD) I'd need a QLD Medical Mine cert..and Generic Coal induction or something?
But I suppose this is something i can find out by ringing around here in Mackay

+Rep coming out for now..
If you have anymore info i'd appreciate it (With more +rep for you's!)

Thank's, Mark

[wraith]

Yeah you need a current medical certificate and a Generic coal board induction too. Can't remember the cost off the top of my head but there's a few companies who do it so it won't be hard to find.

[dirt drifter]

if u get a crack at a diesel fitter apprenticeship i say go for it. i reckon it would be better money and better roster than being the camp chef.

and yes you will need a coal board medical, damn near every doctor in mackay should be able to do one. its just eyesight, hearing, drug test and they check blood pressure, that your joints have full movement etc and maybe a chest x-ray. nothing a young bloke needs to worry about.

and yes you need a generic induction, surface or underground depending on where you are going, it takes a day to do. if u are headed to a BMA site then you must do a BMA induction on day 2 after the generic (BMA = bhp mitsubishi alliance, they have many open cut and 1 underground mines around moranbah) STAX/SGS is the mob to get the inductions through. back at the start of 08 when i got into the mines the cost of medical, x-ray, surface generic + BMA induction didnt leave much change from a grand.

also, dont go underground unless you're thick skinned and not easily repulsed or offended, i knew some of the underground lads at the last camp i was at. they're good blokes but crazy wild animals at the same time

[OFF T4P]

you won't need generic coal board induction if your a chef at camp maybe just a medical. I am not to sure about coal mines but fitters in the hardrock mines are on pretty good coin. I still reckon just go mining and you will set your self up good enough. doing a trade as a fitter in the mines you would not learn as much as you would doing it in town because you are doing the same thing day in day out pretty much and most of the gear gets sent of site for rebuilds and what not so all they do is fit parts really. go underground miner and within 4 years you could be earning upto $150 000 a year an within say 6 or 7 years it could be up around $200 000 on a jumbo you would start on a truck earning around $70 000 - $80 000 depends where you work. good life style too

[VT-565]

then put up with whining pricks who would whinge about a feed cooked by jamie oliver himself! The (qualified) cooks i knew get paid well but they bloody well earnt it

most mine chefs can't cook anyways i have worked at a lot of mines and you very rairly have a good feed while ya out there.

ha ha ha h ah ah aha ha

[DLFHUB666]

i know ppl that use to work in mackay that started on 100 grand a year driving trucks with NO expreince on a alright roster as well 2 weeks on 1 week off

[VT-565]

Not nearly enough to get me into a mind-numbing job like that.

Get loaded. Drive. Reverse. Tip. Drive. Repeat.

For 12 hours.

For 2 weeks.

My hat goes off to the people that do it and DON'T crash and burn when they fall asleep from boredom.

[DLFHUB666]

^^^^toataly agree with u on that i couldnt do it i have enough probs stayin awake for the 4 12 hr shifts i work an then i hav to hav 4 days off jus to recover ha ha ha

[OFF T4P]

i know ppl that use to work in mackay that started on 100 grand a year driving trucks with NO expreince on a alright roster as well 2 weeks on 1 week off

yea open cut truckies are on more then underground truckies but it takes way longer to move up the ladder in a open cut then it does in a underground mine plus the top jobs underground pay more then you can make in open cut. might even be more then 80 grand a year who knows that was many moons ago when i was a trucky.

[VT-565]

80 grand a year is nothing to sneeze at.
My base level tradespeople start on that for a 48 hour, 5 day a week job

[MasterOfReality]

Working as a cook at the mines (I wouldn't call them chefs, some of the shit I have been served over the years at various camps certainly does not qualify as chef material) wouldn't be too bad. It would be decent money and you won't have to put up with the bullshit heat (both open pit and underground).

Getting a job on crew isn't as easy these days as it was 4 or 5 years ago when the boom took off - too many cowboys around and the mines have certainly clamped down on the quality of their recruitment, and thats not just restricted to the guys on the tools, even the mining engineer roles have been tightened up. I have been a mining engineer and geotechnical engineer for nearly 10 years and am now a consultant. Sometimes when I go to site I get to talk to a snot nosed mining engineer who is maybe 2-3 years out of uni and is already in a senior engineer's role. They clearly don't know shit.

If you want to work underground, only the lucky few will end up on a jumbo and earn the big bucks.

[Dum*P*ster]

I'd be happy to be a TA aswell.. Just, somewhere to get my foot in the door really
Still checking out all the info tho

[MasterOfReality]

Step 1: Go to the labour hire companies that recruit for the mines, or hit up the local contractors
Step 2: Start talking to people that work for the mining company
Step 3: Join mining company

We were paying our geotech assistants $80k a year to do all of the crappy tasks at the drill rigs. It was piss easy work and they bludged for most of the time. They all found employment after 6 months with BHP on $100k plus. One of the blokes got a job in the prep plant hosing down stuff for $103k a year.

[Dum*P*ster]

Im gobsmacked lol!

But, in order to even get looked at, I need to take it upon myself to get the Coal Board Medical and such yeah?

[MasterOfReality]

Are you in Brisbane?

Ring up a mob called Simtars. They are out at Riverview, near Goodna. They do all the generic inductions for both open cut and underground. They will be able to send you details of the courses available and the cost.

http://www.dme.qld.gov.au/mines/generic_induction.cfm

I have done the generics a few times now and its pretty easy - no need to stress about it.

It would be seen as advantageous if you had done the generics before applying for work.

[Dum*P*ster]

Sadly.. im in Mackay
Can this mob do correspondence learning?

[MasterOfReality]

Sadly.. im in Mackay
Can this mob do correspondence learning?

They have a centre in Mackay

Shoot them off an email or give them a ring.

[dirt drifter]

look up this mob

http://stax.au.sgs.com/

and either ring them or book online, they do inductions in mackay. if u want to work above ground then i recommend u go the 2 day surface generic/BMA induction. no doubt there are other mobs who do the inductions up there. just make sure you've done the medical first before doing the induction

[Dum*P*ster]

Ahh.. thank's guys
MUCH appreciated ..
Now I know where to start looking, Medical first !! ... Guessin theyd cost around $100-$400 I'd suppose ?