Central Queensland Site Services


Resource Sector Solutions

Telephone: 07 3613 9754
Address: PO Box 5134
Q Supercenter
Queensland 4218, Australia
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Recruitment News and Skills Shortage Issues

Taskforce calls for migration overhaul to increase foreign workers

Overseas Recruitment Services; Jul. 21, 2010
Gillard government’s National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce final report recommends an overhaul of Australia’s temporary migration to make it easier for companies to draw on overseas labour, especially during construction.
 
The taskforce has backed the continued use of foreign labour to fill worsening skills shortages on major resources projects in Australia especially in resource-rich Western Australia and Queensland. This includes the Section 457 temporary skilled visas for foreigners, noting the program had proved an important pathway to permanent migration.
 
Last year employers in Australia’s mining sector were granted 4300 section 457 visas, while employers in the construction industry were granted 5540.
 
"The rate at which employers are sponsoring subclass 457 workers to permanent residency suggests the program is working quite effectively in filling short-term skills gaps and then translating these into permanent arrangements," it said.
 
"Recent trends indicate that subclass 457 visa applications are increasing as the economy recovers." Migration remains an important source of supply, particularly for mining and petroleum engineers and geoscientists.
 
The taskforce, chaired by federal Labor MP Gary Gray, proposes five-day deadlines for visa processing and the introduction of a new form of labour agreement -- to be known as an enterprise migration agreement -- for big projects. Companies would also be required to submit a workforce impact statement outlining the labour needs of any project with a value greater than $40 million at the same time as they apply for government approval, allowing better planning of needs.
 
Its key recommendation, the establishment of EMAs, would allow for multiple employers engaged on a project in Australia to have access to the agreement.
 
But it said employers that want to sign an EMA must have a credible plan justifying the need for overseas workers, evidence of market testing for trades and a plan for training Australians to fill lower-skilled roles.
 
The report's endorsement of permanent and temporary skilled migration comes days after Julia Gillard called for a more sustainable migration program as she rejected Kevin Rudd's preference for a "big" Australia.
 
West Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry said the Prime Minister "can't afford to be shy" in finding a solution to the emerging skills shortages as it called on the government to adopt the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce report recommendations. 
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Overseas Recruitment News

Central Queensland Site Services

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