A new mining industry training project is set to be piloted on the east coast of Queensland in an effort to improve the quality of training for the resources sector.

The Federal Government has invested $154,000 into the Work Readiness Program that will provide training opportunities for Indigenous and unemployed young people in the Mackay region.

The Work Readiness project aims to provide school leavers and other inexperienced personnel with an accelerated pathway into productive work within the resources sector.

The classroom based training program will also provide on-site training and assessments so that participants will learns skills such as basic cutting, welding, communications, risk assessments, first aid and general workplace safety.

The Minister for Vocational and Further Education, Mr Andrew Robb AO MP, said the program is in response to recent feedback from the mining industry confirming a strong need for an entry level program.

"Across our economy we have many significant pockets of under utilised labour which must be tapped if we are to reduce the labour shortage, especially in critical areas like the mining industry," he said.

"Not only that but many of these people want to work and this project will help them to do so."

Participants who take part in the program will attend two weeks of classroom training followed by three weeks of on-site training. The classroom component will be based around training in a new stimulator haul truck.

The project will be managed by the Mining Industry Skills Centre, with off-site training through Central Queensland University in Mackay. Further support has been offered by Xstrata Coal Australia, the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, Rio Tinto Coal Australia and Boral Quarries.

"This is an excellent demonstration of a partnership between industry and training providers to ensure that young people in the Queensland region are given training relevant to local business needs", Mr Robb said.

The Mining Industry Skills Centre will also receive $250,000 to undertake a national forecast of skills demand and supply for the next five years in the mining industry, which brings total funding for the two projects to $404,000.

The two pilot programs are currently up and running with the final group of students trialling the program due to finish in December. Follow up programs will assess the course before the future of the course is fully evaluated.