The teenagers from Cloncurry and Mount Isa, have the world at their feet and their new careers ahead of them.

They are among 90 new apprentices to join the ranks of power supplier Ergon and mining giant Xstrata who have just completed their annual intake.

John Beauchamp joined 31 fellow apprentices across North Queensland last week spending their first days on the job at an induction program in Townsville as part of Ergon Energy's 2012 intake.

As part of the week-long induction process he has been presented with his PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) - hard hat, safety boots and safety glasses.

He was chosen from more than 2000 applicants.

Fifteen of Xstrata's apprentices have come through the successful Xstrata school-based programs from previous years, including 17-year-old apprentice electrician Zack Chirio, who was part of the school-based program when he was a student at Spinifex State School.

"I was a part of the schools program since Year 10, half a day every week we would play around with electrical things," Zack said.

"I learnt a lot through that and that is where my interest grew and I realised I wanted to do my apprenticeship with Xstrata."

The lads's career paths may cross with the inextricable link between power and mining as they ply their skills around Australia and the globe.

They have joined an industry which continues to boom, according to the recent report from online mining analysts www.researchandmarkets.com

The Business Monitor International's Australia Mining Report out this quarter states Australia continues to be a leading player in many segments of the global mining industry.

BMI said it expects the value of the mining sector will reach US$124bn by 2015 growing at an annual average rate of 7.8% over the forecast period, from US$87.0bn in 2010.

" This growth is fairly uneven with 2011 figures relatively low because of flooding at the start of the year, before picking up as a plethora of projects, most notably by Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Xstrata, come online."

+ Xstrata's 58 apprentice intake: P3