Australia Leads World In Recognizing Skilled Migration

An authority in skilled labour migration has declared that Australia leads the world when it comes to acceptance and acknowledgement of foreign workers who are seeking good employment in their country. 

Its program for migrant workers has recently undergone changes in policies and adjustments. As a result, foreign employment and permanent skilled migration has increased four times its numbers in the last 15 years. 

Among the changes the country has undergone included allowing skilled workers from to get temporary work licences upon arrival to Australia. The country has also introduced an Enterprise Migration Agreement addressing large-scale projects. With these changes done, professionals no longer have to wait to gain overseas qualifications to work in Australia. 

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the changes were set in motion in order to meet skill shortages in the country. The process, however, took decades to be set in place. 

Skilled migration programs in Australia are mostly privatized. Since 2009, about 70 percent of these migrants are employer-sponsored, giving preference to arrivals of temporary skilled migrants over permanent migrant status. 

Most private companies seek professionals from English-speaking countries in the following industries: nursing, computing, business, engineers, and sales and marketing. 

The Australian government, meanwhile, prefers workers from Asian countries from these industries: accounting, computing, architecture, engineering and nursing. 

A demographer from Monash University posed some objections to these policy changes, saying that Australians seeking employment may find no opportunity available for them. The changes can also to foreign workers being exploited when it comes to wages and working conditions. 

A Minister of Immigration spokesman, however, said that recognizing migrant workers is essential to maintaining good economic standing. Exploitations and violations of their employers will be penalized and dealt with accordingly.

Tagged employment, immigration, labor