17 March 2009

Foreign IT workers flooding Aus workforce: immigration analyst

An immigration analyst has called for the Government to stop fast-tracking Australian visa applications for IT workers, reports The Australian.

Bob Kinnaird, immigration and 457 visa analyst, said Information Technology should no longer be listed on the Critical Skills List (CSL), which the Government introduced to create a more targeted Australian skilled migration program. 

If an occupation is listed on the CSL, then all Australian visa applicants with that occupation have priority processing over all other self-nominated applications. 

Mr Kinnaird says there are too many unemployed Australians in the IT industry to validate having IT on the CSL. 

"IT should be removed from the critical skills list and employers forced to take on displaced Australian IT workers and fresh IT graduates," Mr Kinnaird said.

"The employer-sponsored permanent residency visas should be made subject to a labour market test, and employers should have to prove there are no Australian IT workers available to do the work at market rates of pay," he added.

Yesterday, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans announced changes to the migration program so that 18,500 less places are available for skilled migration, so that now the annual migration intake is sitting at 115,000 rather than 133,500.  He also removed building and manufacturing trades from the CSL, such as bricklayers, plumbers, welders, carpenters and metal fitters, and has left health and medical, engineering and IT professions as the professions highest in demand in the Australian workforce.

 

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with emigrating to Australia.