Skills Shortages
Minister urges states to boost sponsored skilled migration
Friday 4 July 2008
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, will today (Friday) urge the states and territories to boost their use of state-sponsored skilled migration to meet labour market demands.
Senator Evans will raise the issue at a meeting of the Ministerial Council for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs in Perth.
‘There is the capacity within the Federal Government’s permanent skilled migration program for states and territories to sponsor overseas skilled workers in occupations in demand,’ Senator Evans said.
‘The Rudd Government’s May Budget added an additional 31 000 skilled migrants to the 2008-09 Migration Program to help employers with the skills shortage.
‘I will be encouraging the states and territories to increase their use of state-sponsored migration to better link skilled workers to the economic needs in their jurisdictions.’
Overall, permanent skilled migration will make up 133 500 places in the migration program, which totals 190 300 for 2008-09.
Last financial year’s skilled migration outcome totalled some 108 500 places, which included a special allocation of 6000 extra skilled migration places announced by the Rudd Government in February. About 7500 of the skilled migrants were state and territory sponsored visa applicants.
Department of Immigration and Citizenship figures from recent years show that state and territory sponsored skilled migration forms less than 10 per cent of the overall skilled migration program whereas employer sponsored migration is closer to 20 per cent. Skilled workers migrating independently continue to comprise more than half the program.
Senator Evans said the Government would consider providing greater flexibility for states and territories under the sponsorship program to enable them to sponsor more skilled workers in areas of high demand.
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