15 October 2007

'Significant demand' for Australian immigration: Mining executive

Western Australia will need around 40,000 extra workers by 2015, according to the chief executive of the state's Chamber of Minerals and Energy. Reg Howard-Smith said more skilled workers from overseas with Australian visas will be required.

Western Australia will need around 40,000 extra workers by 2015, according to the chief executive of the state's Chamber of Minerals and Energy. Reg Howard-Smith said more skilled workers from overseas with Australian visas will be required.

"There will be undoubtedly significant demand for overseas people simply because we don't have local people," he told the Western Australian newspaper.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief economist John Nicolaou agreed that the labour crisis is severe across all sectors and Australian immigration is necessary to fill the gaps.

"Failure to do so (recruit from overseas) will severely compromise the state's ongoing economic performance and impinge on the ability to deliver major projects on budget and on time," he said.

Minerals Council of Australia spokeswoman Louise Dodson added that the labour shortage is a global one and "industry forecasts that demand will exceed supply of these workers for some time to come".

Australia needs skilled mining workers: anyone interested in Australian immigration should complete the Australian Visa Bureau's online Australian visa assessment to see if they qualify for skilled migration to Australia.