RII30320 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Underground Metalliferous Mining. It prepares you for work as a miner. It has been the current version on the national register since 2021, when it replaced RII30315. Employers posted about 939 miner jobs in June 2026, up 22% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate III in Underground Metalliferous Mining are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Miners are in national shortage, employment is projected to grow through 2035 and job ads in June 2026 were up 22% on a year earlier. Enrolments are falling. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting more miner jobs than a year ago. About 939 miner jobs were advertised online in June 2026, up 22% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 9,900 job ads, while 35 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates drillers as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Driller as in national shortage; Miner as in shortage in regional areas; Shot Firer as not in shortage.
Miner jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 64,127 workers in May 2025, 66,533 by May 2030 (up 3.8%) and 67,860 by May 2035 (up 5.8%).
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Underground Metalliferous Mining are dropping fast. Across Australia, 60 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 35, down 41.7% in a year. National data for RII30320 starts in 2021.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for RII30320 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The register lists 6 core units for the Certificate III in Underground Metalliferous Mining, plus 55 elective options. One unit has prerequisites, marked below.
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Browse coursesGet Course maps RII30320 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 7122) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; register training.gov.au, synced 4 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.