DIRECT, INDIRECT AND SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT

During its construction phase, the project has created several hundred direct jobs locally. When it is fully operational, it will generate 800 direct jobs and more than 90% of these will be taken by people from New Caledonia.  According to studies, there will also be between 2500 and 3500 indirect or secondary jobs. 
The true, overall impact a commercial activity will have can be assessed through the economic concepts of direct, indirect and secondary jobs.   

Direct jobs

Direct jobs are specifically created by a project.  In this case, these relate to the construction of the factory in the first instance and its operation in the second. 

Indirect jobs

Indirect jobs are generated by activities related to the project itself and necessary to its success such as the supply of raw materials and equipment.

Secondary jobs

Secondary jobs are generated by industries which are not involved with the project but whose activities are stimulated as a result of it.  Primarily this will be industries and traders who are manufacturing or selling consumer goods but it may also be service industries, such as transport experiencing an increase in activity. 

Construction: direct employment

At the peak of building activity, direct jobs relating to the construction of Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie will reach the impressive figure of more than 3500.

Employment opportunities for local people

During the preparatory stage, between October 2004 and February 2006, the number of new jobs increased from several hundred to almost 1600. Only 200 of these posts were taken by workers who had come from overseas. Most of these jobs involved earthworks in order to be able to build roads and prepare the site for construction of the factory; New Caledonia possesses a good level of competence in this area. Other jobs involve administrative services and catering and maintenance services at the on-site accommodation facilities for workers. Construction of the power station and the Prony Bay port has also created direct jobs.

The use of foreign labour

For cost and efficiency reasons, the factory has been built in modules which have been prefabricated in the Philippines and other countries and which will be shipped to New Caledonia for assembly on site. The second phase of construction, which began in August 2006, mainly involves transporting these gigantic modules and assembling them on the site. These assembly works require specialist and experienced workers. This is why it has been necessary to engage the services of almost 3000 foreign workers, mainly from the Philippines, who are specialised in this type of work.

In order to protect the interests of the local labour force, the authorities in New Caledonia impose severe restrictions on the employment of workers from overseas. Companies wishing to employ foreign labour must therefore follow a procedure which aims to make sure that there are no local jobseekers capable of carrying out the work first. Authorisation must be obtained before workers from overseas can be brought in.

The Filipinos and other workers from overseas are on temporary contracts. They will only remain on the territory for the duration of the construction phase. These workers will arrive in successive stages from April 2006 onwards and will stay for between six and eighteen months according to the specific nature of their duties. They will then return to their home country so that in some cases, they can take up work on another site. The Philippines has made a considerable industry out of exporting specialist labour. This is why it was possible to obtain a dispensation for a 60 hour working week because this is the usual practice on the majority of major construction sites throughout the world.

A balance to maintain

Throughout the entire construction phase, Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie has tried to establish a fair balance between recruiting local workers and recruiting from overseas. Whilst seeking to give preference to local workers, the company wants to avoid poaching labour from other construction projects in operation in New Caledonia. It also does not want to generate an artificial demand for certain types of skills which are required on a very temporary basis only, thus leading to a high rate of unemployment when construction works are complete. This is why the company has not concentrated its energies on training people in trades relating to the construction industry, but has instead focused on training people for the permanent posts needed for the mining phase. Nevertheless, Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie has absorbed almost all the skilled labour available locally

Construction: indirect employment

During the construction phase, local indirect employment opportunities have involved transporting goods and workers to the construction site. Other jobs have been created in companies manufacturing equipment needed on the site itself, from cement to pipes, to shovels, or the equipment for the on-site accommodation facilities, such as portable algeco cabins, beds, furniture, kitchen and leisure equipment, etc. There are also jobs producing food for meal preparation-fruit and vegetables, bread, meat, fish, etc.

Construction: secondary employment

During the construction phase, a large proportion of secondary jobs will be created by increased demand, in particular from expatriates living outside the site, for consumer goods and services such as food, clothes, petrol, leisure, tourist activities, etc.  Some of these expatriates will also provide jobs in areas such as gardening, childcare and housework.  The creation of new salaried posts for local people will also stimulate demand for some consumer goods which are sold on the territory, such as cars.

Indirect and secondary jobs are not limited to New Caledonia.  Some equipment and materials will need to be imported.  However, honouring its commitment to contribute to the local economy, Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie considers it its duty to purchase as much as possible locally.

Mining: direct employment

Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie intends to give 90% of the 800 jobs required for operation of its plant to the people of New Caledonia. The company has therefore taken advantage of the construction phase to establish training programmes in order to prepare local men and women, mainly from the neighbouring communities of Mont-Dore and Yaté, for these occupations. Direct jobs will be created in three sectors - the mine, the port and the factory.

Mining 225 jobs Factory 400 jobs

Port and logistics 110 jobs Support and administration services 65 jobs

 

Mining: indirect employment

During the mining phase, whilst the demand for construction materials will have fallen, the demand for raw materials and the materials needed for the factory to operate will increase.  Indirect jobs will therefore be generated by the need for raw materials such as coal, lime, acid, etc. Jobs will also be created in local small businesses who have already been approached about supplying small works maintenance and repairs services. 

Mining: secondary employment

As the majority of expatriates will have left the country by the mining phase, secondary jobs will be generated in the main by increased collective wealth locally which in its turn will generate an increase in the manufacture of certain goods and in commercial activity.