The Hindu Business Line : Australia to hold skilled migration expo in Chennai

IN what appears to be a marathon drive to acquire skilled migrant workers, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Australia will be conducting a skilled migration expo here over the next three days at Le Royale Meridien hotel.

The programme is part of a wider spate of initiatives to replenish a tightly-stretched workforce in Australia. The expo in the city is the final lap of the roadshow that has travelled to London, Berlin and Amsterdam, recording a total of 10,561 registrations.

Speaking to Business Line, Ms Mary Cunningham, Director Business and Skilled Migration, Northern Territory Government, Australia said, "It is an initiative that is being driven by skill shortage on Australia."

The skills in demand are varied and wide-ranging and run the gamut from dentists, doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists, and brick-layers to fitters, electricians, and plumbers. On why Australia cannot find domestic solutions to quell the labour shortage, Ms Cunningham said, "We've got an ageing population and the baby boomer era that has been the labour force for Australia for a long time is starting to come to retirement age. The requirement in Australia is also greater because of the nature of developments that are taking place globally. And I think they are the principal combination of why such drives are undertaken."

There is also the fact that different territories in Australia will face different skill shortages in varying degrees, which again is compelling Australia to turn to the outside world for help.

Mr Michael Opie, International Student Co-ordinator, Charles Darwin University, feels that "the whole Northern Territory, particularly Darwin, is growing very rapidly. There are a million tourists each year as against the area's population of about 200,000. There are not enough people to service the tourism industry and so a lot of hotels and resorts have to resort to back packers."The job fair is as much a drive to harness overseas skill and talent as much as it is an endeavour to showcase Australia, in particular lesser-known destinations, to the migrating public, such as the Northern Terrritory, for instance. "Australia isn't Sidney and unfortunately because of the profile that Sydney has everyone seems to think that if you go to Australia you go to Sydney. We are here to put the Northern Territory on the map. A lot of what we do is to show people that, perhaps, there is somewhere else to go and the Northern Territory, particularly Darwin, has a climate that is very similar to India's so it's a good match," said Ms Cunningham.

The skill shortage in the Northern Territory, she said, was for civil engineers, registered nurses, accountants, pharmacists, secondary school teachers in math, science and physics, fitters, motor mechanics and management in the hospitality industry. With two years of study in an eligible course at the Charles Darwin University the student gets an added bonus of a visa guarantee. "Somebody who's studied at the Charles Darwin University for two years in an eligible course will then get sponsorship for SIR (Skilled Immigration Regional) visas from the Northern Territory Government," said Mr Opie.

Ms Cunningham will be taking back CVs of people whose profiles fit what employers of Australia's Northern Territory want. "And if I return with some good CVs I would imagine that I would have employers come out of the woodwork from everywhere."

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