Increase in employer-sponsored skilled migrants

A new report has found Australia’s migration program is more effectively meeting the needs of employers with a 60 per cent increase in the number of employer-sponsored skilled migrants to Australia in 2008-09 compared with the previous year.

The Report on Migration Program 2008-09 shows that the Rudd Government’s targeted approach to overseas workers is helping to fill critical skills gaps in the healthcare, engineering, financial services and IT sectors.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said that changes introduced in January including the Critical Skills List (CSL) of high value occupations and prioritising employer-sponsored or state/territory-sponsored skilled migration visa grants were having a significant impact.

Overseas workers who were sponsored by employers comprised 33 per cent of the 2008-09 skill stream compared to 22 per cent in 2007-08 and 17 per cent in 2006-07.
“A properly targeted migration program will ensure we have the right sized and appropriately skilled labour force to meet Australia’s needs now and into the future as our economy recovers and grows.”

The Government cut the 2008-09 permanent skilled migration intake in March 2009 by 14 per cent from 133 500 to 115 000 and reduced planning levels for the permanent skilled migrant intake in the overall 2009-10 migration program to 108 100 places.

“This is in direct response to the economic slowdown and represents an overall drop of almost 20 per cent on previous planning levels,” Senator Evans said.

“The migration intake in the coming year reflects the economic conditions while ensuring employers can gain access to skilled professionals in industries still experiencing skills shortages such as healthcare and engineering. “The reduction is being achieved through a cutback in places in independent skilled migration rather than in the high-demand employer-sponsored category or in areas in which Australia has critical skills shortages.”

Across all permanent skilled visa categories, the top three occupations for successful applicants were accountancy (6238), computing professionals (3879) and registered nurses (3355) while the top three countries of citizenship under the skill stream were the United Kingdom (23 178), India (20 105) and China (13 927).

“Australia’s migration program is better targeting the needs of Australian employers who are still experiencing skill shortages,” Senator Evans said.

Source  :  www.manmonthly.com.au

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Get a healthcare job in Australia at Cardiff show

Skilled health professionals in the west of the UK are being given the chance to find out about a new life in Australia at the Down Under Live event in Cardiff. on the 11th July. 

There is currently a significant shortage of doctors, medical specialists and nurses in Australia, particularly in regional areas. One of Australia’s leading healthcare recruitment companies, HealthStaff Recruitment, will be coming from Australia to interview candidates for positions in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and other cities.

Candidates will also be able to talk to a range of companies that will make the move possible, including migration agents, state governments, banks and shipping companies.

Tickets are free to any skilled professionals in the healthcare professions. For further information or to apply for tickets, go to www.emigrationseminars.com/cardiff.php

Source  :  www.australiamagazine.co.uk

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A remote control can make life easier

Transform your home with the latest technology available through smart wiring, reports amanda rankin.

AS the name suggests, smart wiring is an intelligent integration of technology that can transform a home into a fully automated environment where the homeowner can control everything, with the touch of a button.

For those who have trouble programing the DVD player this may sound scary but fortunately, this one-touch button is on a remote control.

A remote control is specifically for people who don’t have the foggiest about electronics and just want to know which button to push, and when.

Intelligent Home is a Western Australian company with a team of skilled professionals who can install these intelligent systems and supply the homeowner with one fabulous remote that controls the lighting, the intercom, the telephone, the DVD player, Pay TV, CD, CCTV and other necessary abbreviations.

“The remotes are the secret to having a good experience with smart wiring,” Intelligent Home’s director Brenton Morris said.

“We recommend the remotes highly because anybody can use them.

“That’s our job at Intelligent Home, to set up these complicated systems and ensure that the end result is something that is easy for everyone to use.”

Intelligent Home predominantly deals with trade, and the building companies send the clients in to find out all about smart wiring at the very early stages of the project, usually well before the building process has even started. “We explain smart wiring, which is the data, the television, the Foxtel, the telecommunications and so forth, then we go through security, home theatre, multi-room audio, CCTV, intercom and lighting control, and once we’ve explained all of that to the client, we sit down and do a design with them,” Brenton said.

Depending on the client’s budget and personal requirements, the end result can be a high-tech home wired for sound, TV, security, telecommunications and lighting, all controlled from a central location and ready to face the technology of tomorrow.                                                                         

It sounds fabulous and it is, but what happens when some-thing goes wrong ?

“I’ve been working in electronics since I was 17 years old and things do mess up,” Brenton said.                                     

“We have a service division ready to handle any problems and we send the guys out and they fix the problem.

“We also handpick our electronics and one of the big things we go for is reliability.

“A lot of the products we sell are custom-made and are designed to integrate properly into the house and be reliable.”

 

www.inmycommunity.com.au

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Budget 09: Skilled intake cut by 6900 people

THE federal Government has cut the skilled migration intake by a further 6900 people to help protect local jobs during the economic crisis.

But it will increase the number of people allowed to migrate to Australia for family reunions, the Government said yesterday as part of Budget 2009.

In March, the Government shed 18,500 skilled migration places in response to growing unemployment, which is forecast to hit 8.25 per cent in 2009-10.

The latest cut, the second to be made this year, brings the program down to 108,100 places in 2009-10.

Overall, the Government has slashed previous planning levels by close to 20 per cent.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the cuts would not be made to professions on the critical skills shortage list such as IT.

The migration intake in the coming year reflects the economic climate while ensuring employers can gain access to skilled professionals in industries still experiencing skills shortages,” Senator Evans said in a statement. The Government will provide more opportunities for family reunions by increasing the family component of the migration program by 3800 places to a total of 60,300 in 2009-10.

“This boost … will benefit Australians who seek to have their parents, partners or children join them to live here permanently,” Senator Evans said.

Overall, the migration program will total 168,700 for 2009-10.

www.news.com.au

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