|
SPONSORSHIP IS POPULAR OPTION By Lance Fee,Director Live Downunder UK THE number of employer sponsored visas issued to overseas skilled migrants is at an all time high. The skills shortage in Australia is so severe in particular occupations that employers have no other option than trying to find qualified staff overseas. This is despite the high levels set under the skilled migration program in the last few years. The Australian Government has supported overseas expos designed to allow employers to meet those interested in migrating in the last three years, the most recent expo in London in March, 'Australia needs Skills', was said to have been very successful by those employers that attended. One of the big pressures on many employers in Australia is the demand of the resource companies who are enjoying a boom. They are attracting skilled workers from all sectors in the professions and industries by providing high salary levels and excellent working conditions; these include fly-in, fly-out to the work site. There does not seem to be any relief in sight to the skills shortages with further big resource developments announced in the last month. The unfortunate side to all of this is that several small to medium service and manufacturing businesses have had to close down as a result of qualified staff. A typical example is Brisbane based aluminium trailer manufacturer desperately seeking welder/fabricators for their operations and this situation is repeated throughout Australia. The main sponsorship categories are the four-year temporary visa, known as the subclass 457 and the two permanent visas under the employer nomination schemes known as the subclass 856/121 and the 857/119, the latter for employment in regional areas. All categories require the employer to have first been approved as an eligible sponsor to ensure that they can meet their obligations towards the sponsored employee. Employer groups have argued that there is a major downside to the present scheme as it limits the occupations, which can be nominated under the current scheme in the semi skilled areas. This has had a big effect in two areas, being the construction and hospitality sectors. There are reports daily of businesses having to cut back on opening times or turning down contracts as they are unable to attract the staff to fill vacancies. The government's response apart from funding employer expos overseas has been to set up a national advisory panel, Ms Julia Gillard, Minister for Education, Employment & Workplace Relations, announced the members for this independent statutory body to be called Skills Australia, their role is to provide the government with advice on workforce development and future skills needs. Estimates predict that Australia is currently heading towards a skills shortage of around 240,000 skilled workers by 2016. |
About Us | Our Publications | Shopping | Visa Enquiries | Information Days | Links | Advertising | Privacy Policy
© 2005 Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd.