An urban think tank believes that it’s time for an overhaul of Australia’s cumbersome migration system to address the country’s chronic labor shortage problem. The think tank, the Committee for Sydney (CFS), had surveyed more than 150 corporate leaders which represented 670,000 workers within Australia with nine out of 10 saying the skills shortage was adversely affecting their business.
“Australia’s visa, migration and immigration system needs some serious re-tooling,” the CFS said in a paper released yesterday.
“It is cumbersome, takes too long, and is not easily accessible to potential migrants and immigrants.”
“It also does not always work as intended — providing openings to the highest-skilled migrants.”
Adding to that, the Committee for Sydney revealed that 70 per cent of business leaders said the immigration reduction was a serious challenge in Sydney getting back to its feet from an economic perspective after the long periods of Covid-19 lockdowns.
CFS CEO Gabriel Metcalf is recommending governments and industries focus on upskilling workers, reform the skilled migration program and encourage greater participation of women in the workforce.
“During COVID-19, immigration collapsed and the country experienced negative net migration for the first time,” he said.
“Migrants and immigrants … contribute enormously to our economic productivity, which is good for everyone.”
There could be a shortage of 300,000 workers in the state by year 2025/2026 due to low migration, according to the NSW Treasury.
AAPNews
