Improving safety in Australian mining starts with smarter hiring—identify risk before it reaches the site.
Mining
Psychometric assessments and recruitment tools for the Mining industry
The mining industry operates in some of the most high-risk environments in Australia, where physical demands, remote conditions, and strict safety standards leave no room for error. Hiring the wrong person doesn’t just affect performance—it can lead to serious safety incidents, operational downtime, and increased legal exposure.
A mining recruitment safety assessment is essential for mitigating these risks. Testgrid’s Safety Assessment (SSA) is specifically designed to identify candidates who may be more likely to engage in unsafe behaviours before they enter the workforce. When combined with our broader range of behavioural and cognitive assessments, mining companies can confidently build safer, more compliant teams while reducing the risk of incident-prone hires from day one.
1 in 6
Industrial Workers
are Unsafe
$13,355
Median Accident
Compensation
Typical Roles in Mining
- Miner (e.g., development miner, production miner)
- Driller (surface or underground)
- Blast Crew Member / Shotfirer
- Jumbo Operator
- Bogger Operator / LHD Operator
- Truck Driver / Haul Truck Operator
- Excavator Operator
- Dozer Operator
- Grader Operator
Common Core Competencies in Mining
- Technical Proficiency: Operation of heavy machinery and equipment.
- Safety Awareness: Adherence to safety protocols and procedures.
- Physical Stamina: Ability to perform physically demanding tasks.
- Scraper Operator
- Dragline Operator
- Crusher Operator
- Processing Plant Operator
- Dewatering Technician
- Paste Plant Operator
- Conveyor Belt Technician
- Underground Service Crew Member
- Charge Up Operator
- Problem-Solving: Quick decision-making in dynamic environments.
- Teamwork: Collaboration with crew members to achieve production targets.
Why and Where to use Testgrid
Reduce Incidents
- Minimises costly downtime caused by safety-related incidents
- Reduces the likelihood of near misses and workplace accidents
Save Lives
- Identifies candidates with high safety risk profiles
- Provides defensible, evidence-based hiring decisions
- Aligns with best practice safety standards
Legally Compliant
- Reduces exposure to legal liability from preventable incidents
- Supports compliance with WHS regulations
- Identifies candidates with high safety risk profiles
57% of on-site accidents are human errors
Screen out unsafe employees and reduce time lost to injury.
A limited talent pool with younger generations favouring other industries – a company working with current technology and assessments is more attractive to a younger generation.
Hiring For?
- Apprenticeships, Graduates & Entry-Level Roles
- Site Operation & Production
- Maintenance & Technical Support
- Technical & Engineering
- Support & Corporate Services
Aptitude Assessments
Aptitude assessments measure cognitive ability—problem-solving, reasoning, and learning speed—making them ideal for identifying high-potential talent with no prior mining experience.
Used alongside behavioural and safety assessments, they highlight key competencies like focus, resilience, and awareness. This well-rounded approach ensures your mining recruitment safety assessment process finds smart, capable candidates who can grow and stay safe on site.
Behavioural Assessments
Behavioural assessments reveal how a candidate is likely to act in real work scenarios—especially in high-risk mining environments.
For early-career hires, these assessments help identify traits like rule adherence, teamwork, and risk aversion. Paired with aptitude and safety assessments, behavioural data adds depth to your candidate profile, ensuring only those with the right temperament and safety focus are selected.
Safety Assessments
Inexperience at the entry level makes safety assessments essential in mining. Testgrid’s Safety Assessment (SSA) evaluates key traits like risk tolerance, rule-following, and situational awareness—crucial for predicting safe behaviour on-site.
When combined with behavioural and aptitude tools, the SSA strengthens your mining recruitment safety assessment strategy, helping you hire individuals with the instincts and mindset to work safely from day one.
Aptitude Assessments
In mining operations and production environments, the ability to make fast, accurate decisions and process information under pressure is vital. Aptitude assessments are designed to measure key cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, numerical reasoning, spatial awareness, and attention to detail—skills that are directly linked to on-the-job performance and safety outcomes.
These assessments help identify candidates who are quick learners, can follow procedures accurately, and can operate effectively in complex or high-risk situations. Beyond recruitment, aptitude assessment data can be used to support workforce development by identifying strengths and skill gaps across operational teams. This insight allows organisations to tailor training programs, support career progression, and build capability where it’s needed most. By integrating aptitude data with behavioural and safety assessments, mining companies can take a proactive, data-driven approach to both hiring and developing their operations workforce—ensuring they’re equipped with the right cognitive tools to work safely, efficiently, and confidently.
Behavioural Assessments
Behavioural assessments evaluate traits such as rule-following, teamwork, resilience, and risk tolerance, helping employers select candidates who naturally align with a safety-first, compliance-driven culture.
When used as part of the hiring process, behavioural assessments ensure that only those with the right mindset and behavioural traits are placed into critical operational roles. But their value doesn’t end at recruitment. The data collected through these assessments can be revisited to support ongoing workforce development—highlighting areas for coaching, leadership readiness, or training needs. For example, employees flagged as having high potential but moderate rule compliance can be supported with targeted safety programs, while those with strong leadership traits can be fast-tracked for supervisory development.
This long-term approach transforms behavioural insights into actionable development plans, helping mining organisations not only hire safer, more reliable talent—but also grow them into future leaders.
Safety Assessments
Safety is non-negotiable in mining operations and production environments, where a single lapse in judgement can lead to serious incidents, injuries, or fatalities. Safety assessments—like Testgrid’s Safety Assessment (SSA)—are purpose-built to identify individuals who may be more prone to taking risks, breaking rules, or underestimating hazards.
These assessments evaluate critical traits such as risk aversion, rule adherence, situational awareness, and conscientiousness, helping employers make more informed hiring decisions before candidates even step onto site.
Used during recruitment, safety assessments act as an early filter to flag high-risk behaviours. But their value also extends into workforce management and development. Safety profiles can be revisited to tailor training, support performance reviews, or guide conversations about behaviour improvement. When combined with behavioural and aptitude assessments as part of a comprehensive mining recruitment safety assessment strategy, companies gain a full picture of how someone is likely to think, act, and respond in safety-critical situations—ensuring only the most safety-conscious individuals are selected and supported throughout their time on site.
Leadership Development
Effective leadership is critical in mining, where safety, performance, and team culture all hinge on clear decision-making and resilient leadership under pressure. Testgrid offers a range of off-the-shelf and fully customised assessment tools to support leadership development at all levels—from frontline supervisors to senior site managers.
Whether delivered through one-on-one sessions or team-based workshops, our assessments help mining organisations:
- Identify key strengths and leadership potential within new or existing teams
- Pinpoint the right individuals to invest in for coaching, mentoring, or leadership training
- Highlight development areas and potential derailers, such as risk tolerance, stress response, or interpersonal challenges
- Offer tailored strategies for managing these traits in high-pressure environments common to mining operations
By combining behavioural insights with cognitive and emotional intelligence data, Testgrid provides mining organisations with a clear, evidence-based path to building stronger, safer, and more capable leaders.
Aptitude Assessments
Maintenance roles often involve interpreting complex information, reading technical diagrams, and applying problem-solving under time constraints. Aptitude assessments measure critical cognitive abilities like spatial reasoning, mechanical understanding, and attention to detail—helping employers identify those capable of diagnosing and resolving issues accurately and efficiently.
In technical support roles, these assessments can also predict success in roles that require fast learning, process improvement, or multitasking under pressure.
Core Competencies Assessed:
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Mechanical Reasoning
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Spatial Awareness
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Attention to Detail
-
Problem-Solving
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Information Processing
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Learning Agility
Behavioural Assessments
Maintenance and technical support roles—such as mechanics, electricians, and workshop supervisors—require a high level of reliability, task focus, and accountability. Behavioural assessments help mining companies identify candidates who demonstrate a strong work ethic, attention to procedure, and the ability to work safely and independently, often in high-pressure or time-sensitive situations.
These assessments also help identify individuals who are a good fit for team-based environments, or who have potential for leadership within workshops or site-based support teams.
Core Competencies Assessed:
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Reliability & Accountability
-
Task Orientation
-
Compliance with Procedures
-
Stress Tolerance
-
Independence & Initiative
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Team Collaboration
-
Leadership Potential (for supervisor roles)
Safety Assessments
With regular exposure to high-risk equipment, hazardous materials, and complex machinery, safety is central to all maintenance and technical support positions in mining. Safety assessments—like Testgrid’s SSA—evaluate key traits such as risk aversion, rule-following behaviour, and situational awareness.
These assessments allow mining companies to identify individuals who are more likely to take safety seriously, follow procedures, and respond appropriately in emergencies—reducing incident risk and supporting compliance with WHS obligations.
Core Competencies Assessed:
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Risk Perception
-
Rule Adherence
-
Safety Compliance
-
Hazard Recognition
-
Situational Awareness
-
Conscientiousness
Aptitude Assessments
Technical and engineering roles demand strong cognitive capabilities—from spatial reasoning and numerical analysis to logical thinking and decision-making under pressure. Aptitude assessments are essential for identifying candidates who can grasp complex systems, interpret data, and adapt to rapidly changing operational demands.
Whether hiring graduate engineers or experienced technical specialists, aptitude testing ensures you're selecting individuals who can perform and problem-solve at a high level. These assessments also support workforce development by identifying high-potential employees for future leadership or project management pathways within mining operations.
Behavioural Assessments
In mining, technical and engineering professionals are often tasked with solving complex problems, making critical decisions, and working across teams in high-pressure environments. Behavioural assessments help identify how individuals are likely to operate within these conditions by evaluating traits such as accountability, teamwork, adaptability, and risk tolerance.
These insights help mining companies select engineers, geologists, planners, and other specialists who not only have the technical know-how but also align with the organisation’s safety culture and collaborative values. Behavioural data can also guide team dynamics, leadership development, and communication strategies—maximising both technical performance and cultural fit.
Safety Assessments
While not always on the frontline, engineers and technical staff are frequently involved in site visits, risk assessments, and decision-making that directly impact safety outcomes. Safety assessments—like Testgrid’s SSA—evaluate critical traits such as rule-following, risk perception, and situational awareness, helping identify individuals who prioritise safety in both planning and practice.
By incorporating safety assessments into recruitment and development, mining companies can ensure their technical teams support a culture of safety—from design and planning through to on-site execution. It’s a proactive approach that reduces risk, strengthens compliance, and ensures every level of the business is aligned on safety expectations.
Aptitude Assessments
In mining’s corporate and support roles—like HR, finance, and logistics—strong cognitive skills are essential. Aptitude assessments help identify candidates with the problem-solving ability, numerical reasoning, and learning agility needed to succeed in fast-paced, detail-focused environments.
These assessments provide an objective view of a candidate’s potential, helping teams hire smarter and reduce bias. They’re also valuable for identifying high-potential employees, supporting internal development and succession planning.
Used alongside behavioural and safety assessments, aptitude testing gives a complete view of capability—enabling more effective, future-ready teams across the mining business.
Behavioural Assessments
In mining, corporate and support functions—such as HR, finance, procurement, and administration—play a critical role in keeping operations running smoothly. Behavioural assessments help organisations identify candidates who are aligned with company values, team culture, and role-specific expectations. These assessments evaluate key traits such as communication style, collaboration, accountability, and work ethic.
By understanding behavioural preferences from the outset, mining companies can build high-performing, culturally aligned teams across their head office and regional support centres. The data also supports long-term development by identifying leadership potential and areas for coaching—ensuring corporate teams are not just capable, but ready to grow with the business.
Safety Assessments
Corporate and support staff may occasionally need to visit mine sites for audits, meetings, or oversight—making safety awareness essential. Testgrid’s Safety Assessment (SSA) helps evaluate traits like rule adherence, risk aversion, and situational awareness to ensure these employees act safely in high-risk environments.
Using safety assessments before site visits reduces risk, supports WHS compliance, and strengthens a safety-first culture across the entire organisation.
“Working with Testgrid made our apprentice recruitment process so much smoother and more effective.”
– Energy Queensland
RESULTS
90%
Reduction in failure rate
94%
Completion rate
98%
Retention rate
<%
Eliminated 30% failure rate
“Testgrid’s assessments have transformed the way we hire”
– Mining Company
RESULTS
23%
Reduction in Time Lost to Injury
56%
Reduction in Occupational Diseases (OD)
28%
Reduction in Total Recordable Injury (TRI)
Record Low Injuries
In 2 Decades
Enable faster and smarter hiring decisions. Take the first step to streamlining your recruitment process.
TESTGRID CAN HELP TO
35%
Reduction time to shortlist
29%
Increase in sales performance
20%
Reduction in staff turnover
80%
of Fortune 500 companies use psychometric assessments
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