13 February 2008

'Australia needs skilled immigrants to meet labour needs'

Australian immigration is required to meet the country's growing labour requirements, a new report has claimed.

Native workers and existing levels of Australian immigration cannot meet the current requirements and shortage of younger, skilled workers that are increasingly president, according to a report published by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (Assa), as reported by workpermit.com.

The news comes as Australian immigration is being actively encouraged, with some 177,660 people predicted to have emigrated to the country in preliminary net migration statistics for June 2007, the article noted. Growth in Australia's labour supply between 1980 and 2005 was based on the expectation of further high growth of around 60 per cent, with Australian immigration a key factor, Assa added.

But growth in the country's labour force fell to 1.2 per cent a year by 2006 compared to a 1.9 per cent growth rate recorded between 1980 and 2005, the news provider reported. Australian immigration could also be a solution to the country's skills-shortage in the shipyard industry, according to technologies company Incat.