Ann: First Half 2023 Results Presentation, page-4

To be in 'The Australian' on Wednesday 10 May 2023 (the day following the Federal Budget) is this story of which part is below:

(remember, ASH recently purchased a recruitment company operating in this important sector):

"The extraordinary steps a Perth recruitment agency has taken to attract workers for its clients are testament to the remarkable conditions inside Australia’s mining and oil and gas sectors.

The resources industry is continuing to pump billions of dollars of taxes and royalties into state and federal coffers, and the ongoing strong conditions are having a tremendous flow-on impact on the thousands of service providers and suppliers that rely on the sector.

Among them is Wolfe Recruitment, which has taken the unusual step of installing a fully functional pub inside its office in the industrial suburb of Osborne Park. The bar is free for clients and prospective employees to use, and has been crucial in making Wolfe stand out and increase its retention rate.

Wolfe is also handing out $50 prepaid Visa cards to anyone who attends an interview, regardless of whether they get the job.

Founder Paul Van Dyke says conditions in the labour market are the tightest he has seen in his 13 years in recruitment. Most companies in the mining sector, he says, are experiencing worker retention rates of just 40 per cent given the competition for staff.

Salaries have climbed accordingly – Mr Van Dyke says wages in some roles have jumped 75 per cent in the past few years – but companies are also offering increasingly flexible rosters (or “swings”) as well as more training opportunities. They are also paying more attention to workplace culture..."