Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI) recently represented NSW in the UK, on behalf of the NSW Government’s Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services. Senior Project Officer, Kim-Trieste Hastings, attended a series of migration open days, highlighting skilled migration opportunities and the attractive lifestyle to be found in regional NSW.
The State Governments of South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, in conjunction with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, hosted two of the open days, with a focus on employer sponsorship, in Birmingham and Bristol. These events were aimed at people with skills sets that are currently in demand in Australia. Candidates were targeted based on the skill requirements of participating employers and as set out in State Migration Plans.
“The United Kingdom is an important source of skilled migrants for Australia. Recent research has found that key skills, such as engineering, IT, trades and the sciences are in oversupply in regional pockets of the UK. Conversely, research has also found that suitably skilled workers from the UK are highly valued by Australian employers,” Ms Hastings said.
Ms Hastings also attended ‘Skills Australia Needs’ information evenings, which were held in London. The objective of these information evenings was to attract a small and highly targeted group of potential skilled migrants and facilitate their engagement with employers, state and territory governments and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).
These information evenings were presented free of charge and were invitation only. Attendees were pre-screened for suitable experience and qualifications to meet the employment and sponsorship opportunities on offer in Australia.
A targeted advertising campaign was implemented in the United Kingdom to attract skilled workers in the fields of health, engineering and selected trades to register for the information evenings. The campaign included a mix of web and email-based advertising, and some print advertising, within industry-specific journals and publications.
Ms Hastings took with her to these events a DVD promoting the Northern Inland NSW region, its skills needs and the work of Regional Development Australia Northern Inland. “That I was invited by the NSW Government to go to these UK events and help address skill shortages, was high-level recognition of the skilled migration work undertaken by RDANI,” she said. “It was a great opportunity for the local region and NSW generally.
“In Northern Inland NSW, we will see escalating consequences of the skilled labour shortage in coming years, if we do not continue with RDANI’s Skilled Migration program and see strengthened support for it from local communities,” Ms Hastings said. “The mining sector could need as many as 300-400 skilled workers in the region within the next five years. Small and medium businesses in the region will struggle even more to source qualified and experienced labour. Local residents will feel the impact when they urgently need a ‘tradie’ and find a very long waiting list.”
Story: Gary Fry
