Jobs & Money Detail
Australia still needs skills
Registered migration agent John Adams looks at the jobs Australia will still struggle to fill, despite the credit crunch.
There has been much discussion in Australia about immigration policy in relation to the current economic climate. The general consensus amongst financial experts is that the effect of the credit crunch in Australia will not be as deep or prolonged as in the UK or the USA.
Does Australia need skilled migrants? Pressure is being exerted on the government to reduce immigration numbers, by trade unions, political opposition, public opinion, etcetera. Much of this is about protecting Australians¡¯ jobs. The question is being asked: does Australia need immigrants at this time? Rumour is rife that immigration quotas will be reduced. However, there has been no official cut back of numbers. The number of skilled visa applications budgeted for the 2008/2009 financial year ending 30th June 2009 was increased by about 30,000 over the previous year. If a decision is made to reverse this in the new financial year 2009/2010, the numbers will probably be brought back to what was normal before.
The fact remains: Australia still needs skills
Proof of this is an introduction of a Critical Skills List (CSL) by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) early in January 2009. This is the first time that DIAC have identified, through consultation with trade and industry, occupations that are critical to the Australian economy.
This Critical Skills List, reproduced below, is an indication of occupations that are desperately needed.
Skilled Visa applications for these CSL applications will be fast-tracked.
At the same time DIAC announced that skilled visa applications with an offer of employment will also be fast tracked.
Skilled visa applications sponsored by state governments will also receive preferential treatment. Each state has a unique list of occupations that are in demand.
This indicates a shift in emphasis by addressing Australia's immediate skills shortage pro-actively, as opposed to these applications being queued normally.
Certain industries will do well in the current climate. A recruitment expert in Australia has offered an opinion on certain occupations as follows:
• Accountancy (listed on Critical Skills List): The demand is softening for UK Accountants. However, strong technical and commercial accounting skills are still in demand. It is often well received if candidates have already done the Australian ACA or CPA tax and law conversion subjects. Industries that are continuing to hire include: utilities, some resources especially gas, infrastructure and some areas of government.
• Corporate Recovery/Insolvency, Turnaround Accountants: Due to the current economic climate, there is demand at all levels. The firms hiring aggressively include Big 4, and the specialist insolvency and turnaround firms including Korda Mentha, SV Partners, McGrath Nicol and Vantage Performance.
• Construction (several trades listed on Critical Skills List): Construction demand has moved to government infrastructure projects and specialist house building projects as there is still an undersupply of homes, in South East Queensland particularly. Business development and bid management candidates, water industry engineers experienced in construction and maintenance, project managers, and electrical and mechanical designers are sought after.
• Education (Secondary School Teachers listed on Critical Skills List): Teachers continue to be in high demand, especially experienced teachers in rural areas, experienced and high quality teachers within the private school sector, qualified early childhood candidates, senior high school design and technology teachers, and teachers within mathematics, ICT, and the sciences, as well as qualified teacher librarians.
• Engineering (listed on Critical Skills List): There is demand for Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic, and Civil engineers. Environmental engineers, scientists and managers for infrastructure projects, as well as experienced design engineers with additional skills such as drafting, and project/site supervision. The engineering market has softened, especially in the mining and construction marketplace main demand has moved to government infrastructure projects and gas and gas exploration industries.
• Healthcare (listed on Critical Skills List): The CSL has listed all Nurses, Midwives, Doctors, Specialists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists etc. indicating demand throughout this sector. There are many opportunities outside the major cities.
• Information Technology (listed on Critical Skills List): The following specialisations are listed on the CSL and on several state sponsorship lists. Computing Professional - specialising in: CISSP, C++/C#/C, Data Warehousing, Java, J2EE, Linux, .Net technologies, Network Security/Firewall/Internet Security, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, SIEBEL, Solaris, Unix
•Legal: (not on CSL) Lawyers with skills in insolvency and restructuring, and lawyers in the property and construction area are likely to find opportunities.
• Oil & Gas (Engineers listed on Critical Skills List): There has been strong demand in Australia within the CSM (Coal Seam Methane) Gas Industry including BG, Origin Energy, Senior level exploration and production facilities engineers, as well as subsurface and sub-sea candidates.
• Resources & Mining (Engineers listed on Critical Skills List): Although there has been a softening in demand for Mining Engineers, there will still be a need for experience across the range of disciplines over the medium term especially coal, gold and CSM markets.
In considering the above there is a requirement to meet the threshold criteria before being able to lodge a valid application for a skilled visa, which are:
1. Age under 45
2. English language competency
3. An occupation on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL)
Notes:
- There is a small window of opportunity to have the age criteria waived in exceptional circumstances.
- The SOL skills need to be assessed by the appropriate assessing authority in Australia before a visa application can succeed.
- There is also a requirement of work experience for 12 of the past 24 months in an occupation on the SOL to be able to lodge a valid application.
- Australian migration law is complex and if you are not aware of the intricacies, it would be advisable to contract a Registered Migration agent to advise you on your options.
John Adams, Australian Registered Migration Agent MARN 0426480 of Immigration2oz.com.
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Click here to view the Critical Skills List