10 March 2008

IT recruitment association calls for more Australian immigration

The largest association in the IT recruitment industry has called for a new labour agreement to help increase Australian immigration. The Information Technology Contractors and Recruitment Association (ITCRA) has called on the Australian government to ease local training provisions so companies can take advantage of the workers available through Australian immigration.

According to the ITCRA, about five per cent all staff come through the 457 visa programme and the training provisions are threatening this. Norman Lacy ITCRA executive director, told ARN: "Five per cent is not huge but it's a critical proportion of workers - these people are highly skilled and much in demand globally." He added that the impact of having access to these people is "huge". People working in IT and are looking to help the skills shortage in Australia can start the process by taking a skilled points test.

The ITCRA was created to allow chief executives in the IT contract and recruitment industry to express the concerns about the sector.

Australia needs skilled workers: Anyone applying for an Australian visa should begin by completing the Australian Visa Bureau's online Australian visa application to see if they meet the Australian visa requirements.