Jobs & Money Detail
Take your skills to Northern Territory
NT needs skilled migrants across many disciplines. In particular demand are skilled professionals, especially in nursing, medicine, teaching and engineering
Many more opportunities have opened up in these areas in the past three years due to substantial government investment. The following professionals are most needed in NT: Engineers, Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Teachers and Community workers.
It has been predicted that NT will experience strong economic growth during the next few years, and this will lead to a rising demand in skilled tradespeople. Projects on the horizon include a AUS$1.75 billion LNG plant which has been commissioned at Wickham Point near Darwin, to process gas from the Timor Sea for export. Alcan is also nearing completion of a AUS$2 billion expansion of its alumina refinery at Gove, on the eastern Top End. Other projects are a major redevelopment of the Darwin City Waterfront and the development of tourism infrastructure, opening up new opportunities in the tourism, hospitality and service industries. Skills in demand due to these projects are: Metal trades, Building and Construction, Automotive, Electrical, Chefs and Hairdressing.
Potential migrants will be pleased to hear that NT welcomes skilled workers from overseas with open arms. The territory has a strong Business and Skilled Migration Strategy, which was launched in 2005 and has succeeded in doubling the number of immigrants living and working in NT. One of those who has taken advantage of the Strategy is Sven Hug, a chef from Switzerland who now works in Alice Springs. He was sponsored by his employer under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. "I've always loved cooking and being around interesting people in the hospitality industry," he says. "It gives me the opportunity to travel the world. There is such a shortage of chefs, it's a bonus for us. "You have to adapt when you come over to NT in how you talk to people and how you handle situations and you have to be across all the rules and regulations. In Europe it's very traditional, so basically the chef is the person you don't talk back to, whereas here in Australia I get to interact more with my chefs in a cooking sense. It's absolutely magnificent in Alice Springs. We've got everything from around Australia. Tropical fruit and even Asian cuisine. The guests love it."
Another professional who has worked hard to get into NT is Caroline De Silva from Singapore. She completed her studies in Australia and was then offered citizenship under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. She now works at the YMCA Childcare Centre in Alice Springs. "I used to come over and stay for three months then go back to Singapore and work," recalls Caroline. "I was just spending time with my family in Alice Springs. I wanted to find a way to stay in the Northern Territory, when my brother suggested I study here. I went to college in Alice Springs for two and half years to study childcare and because I was enjoying it here and the people were so nice I decided to ask the childcare centre where I worked part-time to sponsor me to migrate."
Many migrants like Caroline have settled down happily to live and work in NT. What's more, the territory government is keen to sponsor those with skills that its workforce needs.
Search current jobs on this site
Register for your FREE emigration starter pack
Subscribe to Emigrate Australia. Read more ...
Search EmiLinks for hundreds of Northern Territory web sites