The Jobs and Skills Summit offers an opportunity to reimagine Australia’s immigration and settlement programs in a way that helps to solve the current skills shortage and also contributes to future prosperity, according to refugee and migrant settlement agency AMES Australia.
AMES Australia CEO Cath Scarth said a more efficient migration system would pay dividends for individual migrants as well as businesses and employers and the economy as a whole.
“We would like to see visa pathways that offer permanent residence to skilled migrants and sees them feel welcome and develop a stake in Australia,” Ms Scarth said.
“We also need settlement and support for migrants that effectively connect them with jobs that they are professionally qualified for.”
Ms Scarth also stated that the country needs to have a flexible education and training system that meets the needs of migrants who are already here.
“This includes support for migrants to have their qualifications recognised. The current system is cumbersome and expensive, which means that Australia is missing out on the skills and experience bring at a time when they are critically needed,” she said.
“We know that migrants and refugees are often under-employed but eventually earn more and pay more tax when they get into work, and they are much more likely to start businesses than native-born Australians. So, there is a clear incentive to get migrants and refugees to participate in the economic life of Australia”
Australia’s unemployment rate currently sits at 3.5 per cent in June – the lowest level in 48 years – and there are 480,000 unfilled job vacancies across the country.
Ms Scarth also reveals that the current visa application backlog is 961,016 across all categories, with some 560,187 lodged by people outside Australia. This includes 57,906 skilled workers seeking permanent visas. Another 13,806 offshore visa applicants are seeking temporary visas.
“What this tells us is that skilled migration must be at the centre of efforts to solve Australia’s skills shortage and the economic implications that come with it,” she said.
The Jobs and Skills Summit, which will run for two days, is expected to bring together individuals from unions, employers, civil society and governments to address shared economic challenges.