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A survey carried out by the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has revealed that the capacity for growth in the state of Queensland is being severely undermined by a lack of available manpower.
Almost 80 per cent of respondents stated that they believed their business would suffer due to a lack of workers over the next 12 months. The current skills crisis in Queensland is just one of many examples of Australia’s buoyant economy creating a major demand for skilled workers which are in short supply. It is widely regarded that Australian immigration is required if the void in the workforce is to be filled. Read more about Immigration needed to solve Queensland worker shortage |
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A survey carried out by the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has revealed that the capacity for growth in the state of Queensland is being severely undermined by a lack of available manpower.
Almost 80 per cent of respondents stated that they believed their business would suffer due to a lack of workers over the next 12 months. The current skills crisis in Queensland is just one of many examples of Australia’s buoyant economy creating a major demand for skilled workers which are in short supply. It is widely regarded that Australian immigration is required if the void in the workforce is to be filled. Read more about Immigration needed to solve Queensland worker shortage |
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Australia is currently experiencing a crippling shortage of nurses, with treatment of babies in hospitals being delayed by weeks due to a lack of staff. Officials in the medical and migration realms believe that Australian immigration could not be more important than ever if this serious problem is to be rectified.
At the Royal Children’s Hospital in Victoria, there is an average of 16 cardiac surgery cancellations per week, The Age has reported, and there are numerous other hospitals in dire need of nursing staff throughout the country. Read more about Australia hit by severe nursing shortage |
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Australia’s education system is becoming an increasingly important factor for the growing number of British migrants relocating Down Under every year.
Families considering a move to Australia are promised the benefit of “the world’s best education system”, a target which the Rudd government has pledged to fulfil.
The country’s thriving education sector has long been a favourite for British students studying abroad, and is also offering excellent career prospects to teachers with Australian skilled visas considering a move overseas.
The government has stated that implementing the Digital Education Revolution is the first step to achieving its aim of providing the world’s leading education system. Read more about Australia lures in migrants with world class education system |
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The Australian government has clearly stated its intention to improve overall skill levels as well as attract new graduate workers. As a result, changes to Australia visa regulations have resulted in a record-breaking influx of students pursuing the academic studies Down Under.
In recent months, the law was changed for foreign students undertaking further education in Australia, who are now allowed to work whilst studying in the country. Read more about Australia attracts record number of students |
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Australia’s education system is becoming an increasingly important factor for the growing number of British migrants relocating Down Under every year.
Families considering a move to Australia are promised the benefit of “the world’s best education system”, a target which the Rudd government has pledged to fulfil.
The country’s thriving education sector has long been a favourite for British students studying abroad, and is also offering excellent career prospects to teachers with Australian skilled visas considering a move overseas.
The government has stated that implementing the Digital Education Revolution is the first step to achieving its aim of providing the world’s leading education system. Read more about Australia lures in migrants with world class education system |
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Australia is currently experiencing a crippling shortage of nurses, with treatment of babies in hospitals being delayed by weeks due to a lack of staff. Officials in the medical and migration realms believe that Australian immigration could not be more important than ever if this serious problem is to be rectified.
At the Royal Children’s Hospital in Victoria, there is an average of 16 cardiac surgery cancellations per week, The Age has reported, and there are numerous other hospitals in dire need of nursing staff throughout the country.
Accordingly, professional nurses are figuring extremely highly on the Migration Occupation in Demand (MODL) list at present, and Australia is aggressively seeking to recruit as many nursed with Australian skilled visas to its shores as possible. Read more about Australia hit by severe nursing shortage |
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United Future leader Peter Dunne has claimed that New Zealand is a “giant transit lounge”, used by migrants who gain citizenship in order to move on to Australia.
Mr. Dunne then proceeded to issue figures which showed that 30 per cent of New Zealanders who undertook Australian migration since 2001 were born overseas.
According to Statistics New Zealand, 28,600 more people left the country for Australia on a long-term or permanent basis than did so the other way in the year to January 2008. In January alone, 5000 New Zealanders made the move across the Tasman, with only 800 heading in the opposite direction. Read more about United Future leader brands New Zealand “giant transit lounge” |
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The Royal College of Nursing has warned that the UK may be on the verge of a nursing crisis as an unprecedented number of nurses are migrating to Australia.
In 2007, a record 5,000 British nurses formally signalled an intention to take up work in Australian hospitals, having been lured by attractive offers and an unparalleled lifestyle. Indeed, numbers of nurses making Australian visa applications have been so high that the RNC has highlighted the need for Britain to retain the nurses which it was producing.
Howard Catton, head of policy for the RNC, explained that he has met Australian employers who had come to the UK to recruit up to 60 nurses at a time, but who had in fact ended up making offers to twice that number. Read more about Extreme numbers of British nurses heading to Australia |
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that the country’s population grew by 1.5 per cent over the year ending September 2007, making it a nation of 21.1 million people.
56 per cent of Australia’s net increase in population was attributed to skilled immigration, totalling 179,100 people, whilst natural increase, meaning the excess of births over deaths, added 139,400 to the tally.
Western Australia currently holds the greatest increase of Australia’s states, boosting its population by 2.4 per cent, followed by Queensland and the Northern Territory at 2.2 per cent each.
Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory both recorded growth levels at the national rate of 1.5 per cent, whilst, New South Wales and South Australia both increasing their population by 1 per cent followed by Tasmania at 0.8 per cent. Read more about Australia’s population continues to grow |
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It has been revealed that, on average, skilled migrant workers in Australia are earning $15,000 more than their local-born workers, undermining the belief that migrants with Australia skilled visas are being exploited by unscrupulous employers.
Figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that holders of 457 temporary worker visas are earning a significantly larger annual salary than Australian workers in a total of 16 industry sectors throughout the country. The average 457 visa holder earning an average of $71,600, whilst local employees earn an average of $55,500.
Indeed, in certain sectors, the gulf between the earnings of foreign-born and local employees is even greater. For instance, in the specialised field of communications, migrant workers earned, on average, $25,000 per year more than their Australian counterparts. In the mining sector, the average wage of a 457 visa holder in 2006-07 was $95,000 compared to $89,950 across the sector. More recent figures have shown that the average salary for an Australian skilled visa holder in the mining industry has risen as high as $103,700.
Read more about 457 temporary visa holders earn higher average salaries than native Australians |
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The Canadian government has confirmed that it welcomed the highest number of migrants in history to its shores in 2007.
The surge was largely due to a 12 per cent rise in the number of temporary foreign workers entering the country in order to combat Canada’s severe lack of skilled workers in a number of different sectors and industries such as energy and mining, which are currently experiencing an economic boom.
Last year, a total of 429,649 new migrants with Canadian skilled visas were welcomed to the country, roughly 60,000 more than were admitted in 2003. Read more about Canada welcomes record number of migrants |
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Liberal leader Troy Buswell, Western Australia’s opposition leader, has announced plans to double the amount of skilled workers arriving in the state through Australian immigration in an effort to relieve WA of its current skills and rental housing shortage.
Mr. Buswell stated: “We envisage that the WA Growth Quota would be around 2400 - meaning that business would be allowed to recruit roughly twice the number of migrants that it can at the moment.”
He added that whilst permanent migration to Australia is important in terms of dealing with the problems posed by an understaffed workforce, temporary migration will also prove to be instrumental in boosting the country’s quantity of available labour. |
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Accountancy firm Grant Thornton has recently conducted a worldwide employment survey and concluded the New Zealand’s economy could be hit hard by the country’s crippling workforce numbers.
Grant Thornton spokesman Peter Sherwin commented: “The disturbing factor is that it continues to climb as a worry for New Zealand firms. In the latest survey, 61 per cent of the New Zealand businesses surveyed said it was a major concern - last year the figure was 60 per cent and the year before that it was 38 per cent.”
However, New Zealand was not the only country facing potential economic problems as a result of its labour crisis. 58 per cent of Australian businesses are said to have expressed concern over the country lack of skilled workers, compared to a global average of 37 per cent. Read more about New Zealand workforce crisis could have heavy impact on country’s economy |
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Canadian Immigration Minister Dianne Finley has announced that the government will be pledging a further $10 million (£5 million) to six organisations, all of which will help migrants who have recently arrived in Ottawa to adapt to a new way of life.
The funds will go towards various aspects of helping newcomers to settle in the province, including finding employment and language training.
Finley commented: “Our government supports newcomers and we want to help them succeed. The services provided by this funding, such as job-search workshops, will allow newcomers to improve their skills and better prepare for their new lives in Canada.”
Read more about More funds pledged to help Ottawa newcomers |
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Immigration News 
