More Visas Boost Workforce

Businesses have been rewarded with an additional 630,000 training places as part of a massive $1.9 billion package to provide skilled labour, particularly in areas of chronic shortage. Yesterday’s budget revealed the Rudd government will kickstart the scheme next year, with nearly a quarter of a billion dollars ($232.6 million), rising to $620.3 million in 2010 and 2100.

More than a third of the places (238,200) will be reserved for the unemployed, providing literacy, numeracy and general skills, if necessary, for people willing to train in specific skills areas. This will cost some $884.6 million.

Another $704.6 million will be carved up between the states, territories and employers to provide 392,000 new training places for existing workers looking to retrain or learn new skills. The scheme includes $242.2 million over the next fives years for 85,000 new apprenticeships. These will be divided up between new entrants and existing workers.

Training places will be targeted toward industries suffering the most acute shortages, including mining and construction, health and community services. The budget confirmed that the government would provide $19.6 million over the next five years to establish Skills Australia, a seven-member panel which will provide the government with advice on current and future skills needs.

The Rudd government will also attempt to plug the skills gab by increasing the skilled migration program by 31,000 places to a total of 190,300 from July, while $20 million will be provided over the next four years to reform the troubled 457 temporary skilled visa scheme. Skilled migration has increased as a proportion of a total migration making up a little than half of total migration in 2006-2007.

A $1.9 billion boost in taxation revenues from additional skilled migrants is expected to offset the $1.4 billion in demand for government welfare services.

The Rudd government will make the Section 457 visa stream more responsive to employer needs. It will no longer face strong union opposition after several unions, including the giant Australian Workers Union, expressed support for using guest workers to staunch the skills crisis.

The Rudd government flagged the introduction of more competition into the training system to encourage more students to finish their courses and find work in the fields in which they’ve trained. Drop-out rates are highest in the most in-demand professions. Money has been allocated from the scrapped Howard government work skills vouchers and business vouchers for apprentices.-Australian Financial Review, 14 May, 2008