Skilled Migration

Australia has traditional relied on skilled migrants to fill gaps in the workforce required for our economic development. There are currently gaps in some primary industry workforces that may limit the productivity of those sectors.

Migration is not the panacea for regional labour and skills shortages but the industry is very firm in its belief that a targeted regional migration program which meets identified shortages will be the single most important source of labour and skilled labour for the State's Primary Industries over the next ten years.

Migration arrangements in support of primary industry labour needs in regional areas are poorly developed. The identification and sourcing process does not relate well to actual labour and skill needs. A key problem area relates to ANZCO classifications and definitions as these provide the occupational parameters for skills in demand listings which drive the formal migration process.

Professional migration has not delivered many suitable migrants to regional areas with often poor matching of professional skills to specific sectors. The principal problem appears to be in occupational classifications where the industry and ANZCO differ in relation to recognition of skill.

Some industry sectors have been using 457 Visas to meet urgent skill needs but once again these tend to fall into a restrictive skill band aligned to "higher skill" classifications.

Where sectors identify a number of positions for people classified under ANZCO "semi-skilled" groupings, these are tending to remain unfilled.

The industry favours arrangements that encourage temporary visa holders to work in primary industry sectors and recent Government initiatives to extend visa durations where backpackers work in primary industry sectors are in accord with industry's views. There remain some clearer recognition opportunities especially for students that would actively encourage participation through the development of a residency incentive program, similar to the backpacker program.

The industry has identified a number of issues that will need to be included in any migration strategy for the South Australian Primary Industries Sector. These are:

• Broadening entry requirements to encompass a wider range of occupations regarded as skilled by the industry.
• Improving matching by introducing greater differentiation of skill descriptions (non-generic)
• Addressing the severe age imbalance in the industry by age and family targeting
• Targeting refugee intakes to primary industry regions in line with their occupational histories.
• Providing tangible incentives to work in regional and remote locations
• Encouraging more seamless progressions towards residency for students prepared to work in the primary industry sector
• Creating more strategic outcomes for Labour Agreement arrangements and industry managed models utilising a mix of skilled/semi-skilled personnel.
• Ensuring that Regional Certifying bodies or other organisations supporting the identification and assessment and/or management arrangements are suitably resourced to effectively manage the process in conjunction with industry enterprises
• Developing and linking short cultural and work awareness training for new migrants to provide for better transition into work and further learning.

In relation to the numbers of migrants being assisted into South Australia the industry believes there is a need to consider the medium term impact of continuing labour force losses and key labour shortages. With improved targeting and some improvements to existing visa arrangements, it is expected that the South Australian intake may need to rise further to deal with more prolonged labour supply shortages.

The effect of a national immigration intake of approximately 140,000 coupled with a fairly constant permanent emigration figure of some 100,000 provides a net figure far below the minimum requirements for both the national and South Australian Primary Industries sector.

It is suggested that the Government will need to look at a further increase in the number of primary industry skilled and semi-skilled migrants and possibly a further increase in total migration to more effectively compete globally for labour in the coming decade.