24 June 2008

Engineering industry needs more Australian visa holders

The engineering industry needs more Australian visa holders to be able to grow effectively. The rate of growth in engineering has levelled at just 1.5 per cent in the five years before 2006, with Australian immigration not currently providing enough workers to increase this, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

A lack of skilled workers is threatening the infrastructure in the country, with low numbers of engineers particularly affecting development, according to the newspaper. Economists said these shortages in infrastructure have had a major impact on the economy of Australia and have reduced its ability to export goods out of the country.

Recent moves to improve training for engineers and increase the level of Australian immigration coming into the country will have an effect on the upgrading of infrastructure, but will take time to make a real impact, the newspaper reports. The construction industry has recently found that skills shortages on Australia's Sunshine Coast have been solved by increasing the number of Australian visa holders, reports Daily.com.au.

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.