Foreign skilled workers not filling Australians’ jobs

Australia, 14th August: Foreign skilled workers coming to work in Australia under Australian 457 visa scheme are not taking up jobs meant for natives.

This has been found by the findings of a recent study. On the contrary, such skilled foreign workers coming to Australia are helpful in filling jobs for which Australians with requisite skills are not found.

Foreign workers no threat to Australians--According to the study undertaken by Western Australia’s Edith Cowan Law Faculty, the aim of this Australian immigration program is to get the workers possessing skills to work at highly specialized jobs in Australia.

The lead author of the study and a researcher at Edith Cowan University Susanne Bahn maintains that Australia might face the risk of losing a couple of projects in the absence of immigration of skilled foreign workers on 457 Australian visas.

That’s because many Australian workers are not willing to relocate to WA for undertaking such jobs, clarified Bahn.

So, in such a scenario, skilled migrant workers gain a vital role in doing the jobs not undertaken by Australians, she said.

Although, the need for retraining among Australians(especially among manufacturing tradesmen) is indispensable, but still Australian resources sector will have to depend on immigrant workers for filling at least 10 percent of its jobs.

The study findings contradict the warning by Chris Evans, Australian Skills Minister that employers in Australia must refrain from hiring foreign skilled workers adding the top priority for employers should be Australian workers. He had further stated that hiring spree of immigrant workers in Australian mining jobs is adding frustration among Australians.

Foreign workers boost local jobs—By taking jobs at Australian resources sector, skilled immigrant workers are filling only genuine vacant positions of jobs in Australia, said Bahn.

And such foreign workers are helping in creating local jobs in Australia since in their absence, Australian resources sector will lose many of its projects. So, they are filling important vacant positions in Australia.

The study findings that skilled workers are supplementing Australian workers rather than replacing them were supported by AMMA, a resources industry employer group and a partner in this study.

The group affirmed that skilled immigrants were, indeed, helpful in creating jobs for Australian in the times to come.