Hays Resources & Mining has reported that spending cutbacks and trends related to fluctuating commodity prices and the highly valued Australian dollar are changing the way miners hire talent.

A focus has been put on contract roles, temporary assignments and fixed-term contracts because mining companies are still not able to commit to hiring permanent employees.

For both blue and white-collar jobs, a tendency was found to seek out dual-trade candidates such as high voltage electricians who could also work as diesel fitters or mining engineers who could contribute to both drill-and-blast design and long-term planning.

Demand was also noted to have increased for locally based candidates.

Hays said mining companies were less likely to support 457 visas or take on fly-in, fly-out workers at the moment or in the foreseeable future.

The trends have modified the skills pinch, with Hays reporting that although candidate levels have increased with some well-qualified professionals, the industry is experiencing a lack of experience.

Solid tenure in previous roles was noted as a key decision point among employers.

Hays Australia & New Zealand managing director Nick Deligiannis said the movement of candidates was fuelling an active jobs market.

"The majority of vacancy activity is the result of replacing departing staff rather than the creation of new roles," he said.

"This movement of candidates between jobs is a trend not reflected in the unemployment rate but it is a good sign of candidates' confidence that they can improve their prospects by looking for a new job.

"As a result overall vacancy activity is expected to increase this quarter.

"Many employers also tell us they are keen to secure candidates who can start early in the new calendar year.

"But employers prefer candidates with a solid history of tenure with their previous employers.

"Candidates who have changed employers often aren't viewed as favourably as those who have been loyal for several years.

"We've also seen the recruitment process lengthen as employers become more thorough when assessing candidates. They often want to make sure their candidate of choice has a broad skill set so that they gain the most value from new hires."

The Hays report follows on recently announced research from the University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute which found that 44% of FIFO workers in the resources sector intended to change jobs in the next 12 months despite reporting a high level of job satisfaction.

Positions highlighted as being among the more in-demand jobs included mining engineers, geotechnical engineers with a least one to three years underground experience and senior metallurgists, which can all focus on increasing productivity from existing plants.

In Western Australia, trainers and surveyors were listed among the more needed positions, while in Queensland Hays charted a rise in technical white collar contract positions as a result of large-scale redundancies across both the coal and metalliferous sectors.

The report said some temporary jobs were available in gold, nickel and copper companies where spending cutbacks had gone too far.

Temporary jobs were also found to be more likely in iron ore due to immediate expansion plans being treated cautiously.

Last August, Hays said more than 70% of resources and mining employees worldwide would see their permanent base salaries rise this year.

In its annual global study of remuneration trends, the group found the amount of employers keeping salaries static this year fell to 25%, compared to 31% last year, while only 3% planned to decrease salaries after 7% made pay cuts in 2012.