Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Michael Rooth, and I work as a Trainer and Assessor at Gold Training. My role involves guiding new to industry haul truck operators through their Certificate III in Surface Extraction Operations, specifically for WorkPac trainees.
When did you start in the mining industry and what was your first job?
I started my mining career in 2005 with MMS at the Mount Thorley/Warkworth Mine, a long way from the panel beating apprenticeship and overseas working holiday I had just completed.
As a contractor to MTW, I was able to continue with my other job at the time, working as a Waterski Director at a summer camp in Massachusetts, USA, for 3 months of the year from 2003 to 2007. I took a break from the camp in 2005 to focus on mining, initially operating haul trucks and then transitioning to dozer operations in the coal and parting team of B Crew, MTW.
How different is your job now to what you wanted to be when you were a kid?
Apparently, I used to tell my grandparents I wanted to be a Mr Whippy ice cream man and a builder so I could build them all a house and give them free ice cream….
Years later my plan was to become a fighter pilot in the Air Force inspired by Mavrick and Goose in Top Gun. So, the running joke has always been how close I got to following my dreams of being in an F-18 by ending up in a D11…. Only a few letters and numbers right!
What’s a usual day at work entail?
A highlight of my job is that no two days are the same. My work week can include being in front of a class facilitating training for a group of 2 or up to 20 trainees, I could be visiting various sites across the Hunter Valley or I might be travelling to central QLD to a mining camp.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The best part of my job is meeting new trainees who are ready to step out of their comfort zone and dive into the mining industry. Seeing their enthusiasm grow while passing on knowledge and helping them through their initial learning phase is incredibly rewarding.
The worst thing?
The hardest part is when trainees need to exit from their traineeship due to personal reasons after putting in the hard work to get the mining opportunity. This is closely followed by 4am alarms, then we have rain affected operations on those particular days! So, not only is it an early start but I end up with an absolutely filthy Light Vehicle after watching my trainees ‘not avoid’ the mud during Light Vehicle assessments…. You all know who you are if you’re reading this!!
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
Strangely the biggest challenge has been the transitioning from 17 years of shift work back to a Monday-to-Friday schedule, also on top of that, adapting to the associated paperwork and computer tasks has been a significant learning curve.
I still get a little nervous stepping up in front of a new group of trainees to deliver my introduction speech, never knowing who may be in the class ready to listen and rely on my knowledge of their upcoming roles in the mining industry.
What has been your proudest achievement?
My proudest achievement is seeing trainees complete their traineeships and then receiving their personal thanks for the support and confidence, making me feel I have done everything I can to provide them with a secure and safe start in their mining career.
This was highlighted last year when I was nominated for the Central Coast and Hunter Valley Vocational Education and Training (VET) Teacher/Trainer, NSW Training award.
What’s something about your job that would surprise people to know?
Many people think due to the company name ‘Gold Training’ we specialise in Gold Mining; however, our focus is quite broad and includes a range of areas such as business and civil training, with coal mining traineeships being a major part of what we do.
What do you do in your downtime?
I love spending time with my two boys, Austin and Zane who are growing up too quickly!
After competing in barefoot waterskiing for over 15 years, taking the boat out waterskiing still tops the list along with going camping, heading out from Stockton fishing, getting the bikes out for a pedal and kicking the footy around the park.
The mining industry gets more than its fair share of criticism. What is your view of our industry and the impact it has?
I look at the positive impact it has had on all the families, businesses and the Hunter Valley. I didn’t come from a mining family and personally feel very lucky I have had this ongoing opportunity to experience what mining has to offer. I have seen a lot of criticism thrown around over my 19 years of mining, however most of it comes from the direction of lack of knowledge. Most can’t answer simple questions such as: What is coal used for? Mining is an easy target as it is so well known for its profits, but easily forgotten what it has provided to the local community and what coal is actually used for.
