And Alistair Harper, Western Plains Automotive's service manager, has three positions for car technicians.

"I've had vacancies for the last five years," he said.

Welders and car mechanics top the list of Dubbo's most-needed skilled workers, followed by builders. Electricians are fourth on the list, then commercial cooks, research for Dubbo's Australian Technical College (ATC) found.

The top five list indicates the mining boom and ongoing drought have conspired to move welders and auto mechanics into the lucrative mining industry, according to Ron Maxwell, secretary for Dubbo's ATC consortium.

The federally-funded ATC will offer training for high school students in those top five trades, as the students study their HSC.

Mr Maxwell said welders and auto mechanics had been "sucked through the system".

"Welders have gone to the mines, or taken overseas contracts, because manufacturers have gone off-shore," he said. "Mining sucks them through the system. Mechanics start on mum's and dad's cars and get experience, they move to the diesel fitter trucks, and then to heavy vehicles, trucks and graders in the mines. Once they get into that area it can be very lucrative."

Ron Shanks said Dubbo has always been short of welders.

"Most of the time I could handle another five or six welders," he said. "We've aimed for apprentices instead. But we could double production."

Mr Harper said the mines offered far more money.

"We train them up, but the mines take them - we just can't compete, and they've got money to throw away. We'd have to charge a huge hourly rate to be able to offer them the same kind of money - up around $150 to $180 an hour."

Mr Harper is looking at sourcing qualified auto technicians from the UK, and has sponsored one to come from South Africa.

"That's just where we have to go," he said.

Number three in the top five skilled vacancies is builders, Mr Maxwell said.

"Building is viewed as a trendy trade. They have no problem in attracting people, but there are still places there."

Electricians and commercial cooks are number four and five and are largely interchangeable.

"Some of the ATC's board members have lost sparkies to Country Energy," Mr Maxwell said. "Electricians and electro-mechanical workers are few and far between. The mines need electrical people.

"And feedback was that people are always looking for cooks. It might appear glamorous but the hours are unattractive, and there's no social life. And people prefer to employ qualified chefs."

The drought is a reason for the vacancies, Mr Maxwell said.

"Rain right now could actually be disastrous for agriculture - in Warren, there are hardly any people left, all the skilled workers have gone. The trades that agriculture need is similar to what the mines need."

lynton.grace@ruralpress.com