Great demand for Australian work visa holders as IT jobs grow

Australia, 7th May: Australia immigration department is being pressurized to ease laws regarding Australian work visas as the nation faced acute shortage of Australian work visa holders in the IT sector.

The country is finding no option but to abandon several major IT projects resulting in loss of billions of Australian dollars since only a handful of IT professionals are there to work in Australia, a recent report in New Zealand has stated.

While the problem of skills shortage seemed to have faded away for quite some time during the global economic crisis, however, it has come back as Australian employers feel an increasing need to fill the vacancies.

The IT industry is in the midst of strong fears that in the face of severe skills shortages in Australia, heavy investments being made in several IT projects might result in losses. 

Recruiters in Australia feel that in the wake of staff shortages in the technology sector of the nation, businesses will either have to give higher salaries to the workers in demand or face delays in high-investment projects.

According to Peter Acheson, the chief executive of Peoplebank Australia, the largest source of IT contract workers, Victoria, Canberra and New South Wales (NSW) have started showing signs of skills shortage.

In Sydney, where a large number of major IT projects are already in progress, shortage of skilled Australian work visa holders is being felt despite the fact that the city already has a considerable number of immigrant workers living presently.

Some of the giant investment project upgrades currently underway in Sydney include Westpac’s upgrades and Commonwealth Bank’s system, which happen to be the biggest IT investment(worth $370 million) by the company till date.

Mr. Acheson stated that it appears imminent that Australia will be in the midst of acute shortage of skilled workers by the mid of this year. Majority of candidates possessing technology skills are getting multiple offers of jobs in Australia resulting in hike in salaries.

Shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector is most probably the result of cuts in immigration rates by the Australian government in the recent times.

Till date, shortage of skilled workers in Australia has been met quite successfully by attracting immigrants with desired skills to apply to the Australian immigration department for seeking Australian visa.