The Barnett government has joined forces with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy to develop a WA skilled migration strategy which will help address the state's looming skills shortage.
The Barnett government has joined forces with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy to develop a WA skilled migration strategy which will help address the state's looming skills shortage.
The announcement is below:
Training and Workforce Development Minister Peter Collier has announced a unique partnership in a targeted approach towards skilled migration.
The State Government will join forces with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia (CCIWA) and Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA (CME) to develop the WA Skilled Migration Strategy.
Mr Collier said this was a key component of the Liberal-National Government's co-ordinated Workforce Development Plan, which was being created to help ensure additional labour requirements would be met.
"While the plan will focus on maximising opportunities for all West Australians, targeted overseas and interstate migration will also be vital in alleviating the predicted future skill and labour shortages," he said.
"The strategy will provide for a responsive, efficient and consistent approach to meeting the State's skilled migration needs over the short to medium term, as WA enters a new phase in economic growth driven by a strong resources sector.
"A State-specific approach to migration policy will work hand-in-hand with a national system to ensure the best interests of WA are achieved."
According to the CCIWA, an additional 400,000 workers would be required in WA over the next 10 years, while the CME has identified that an extra 26,000 workers would be needed in the resources sector alone to 2013.
The Minister said the WA Skilled Migration Strategy would address the following key areas:
- assessing the role of the current migration approach in meeting WA's workforce needs, including assessing the implications of existing policy and practices
- specifying the role temporary and permanent skilled migration plays in meeting such skill needs
- identifying barriers to WA being a destination of choice for skilled and business migrants
- developing a policy framework that clearly outlines the role of migration, both interstate and international, to meet WA's future workforce needs
- considering international students, business migration, interstate migration, a regional perspective, and the impact on social and hard infrastructure.
CCIWA and CME chief executives James Pearson and Reg Howard-Smith welcomed the opportunity for industry to contribute to the development of the strategy and policy framework for State migration matters.
They have highlighted a number of issues they hope can be addressed with a strategy that is more responsive to WA's needs.
This includes an increased administrative burden in submitting visa applications and the potential disincentive this places on business.
The WA Skilled Migration Strategy is due for release in June.
