New boom, bigger problems: poll

One in two West Australians believes there will be greater skills shortages and more pressure on house prices compared with the last mining boom, the latest Westpoll has found.

The results revealed 53 per cent of those surveyed thought there would be more pressure on a housing price bubble and skills shortages than last time, while 32 per cent believed there would be the same level of pressure.

Just 9 per cent of those polled said there would be less pressure.

“There is a clear community expectation that there will be quite severe skills shortages in WA and, perhaps of greater concern, a view that there will be an upward pressure on housing prices,” pollster Keith Patterson said.

“This may lead to significant levels of speculation in housing in the anticipation that values will surge as the resources boom unfolds.”

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary Steve McCartney said the community was right to be concerned about increasing prices.

“I think lower paid members of our community should be concerned because sometimes the benefits of those booms don’t filter down to the low-paid workers,” he said.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union spokesman Gary Wood said he did not believe there would be more pressure as the WA economy improved.

“There might be the perception put out by the likes of the employer associations so they can attempt to justify the use of overseas labour but it needs to be fully demonstrated they are not just a propaganda war to bring in overseas labour,” he said.

Opposition Leader Eric Ripper said the Government needed to demonstrate a sense of urgency over labour supply, training issues and housing.

“The experience of the last boom was that house prices rose and rents rose and there were skills shortages which made life difficult for small to medium enterprises,” he said.

“The Government is not ensuring that enough housing lots are released.

“The industry is not building enough houses.

“We are storing up a problem for the future.”

Premier Colin Barnett had previously said there was a need to attract more skilled workers to WA and there needed to be more mobility of workers between States.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said last month that interstate and international migration was needed to help fill future job vacancies. 

Source  :  www.thewest.com.au

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WA needs more migrants

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard says WA needs more migrants amid claims hundreds of thousands of extra workers are necessary over the next decade to thwart a labour crisis.

Speaking at a Perth business breakfast hosted by _The West Australian _and Murdoch University, Ms Gillard said both interstate and international migration was needed to help fill future job vacancies.

It comes as employer groups warn labour shortages are set to hit within months.

Ms Gillard said WA also needed to better utilise its youth market, which was suffering a 10 per cent unemployment rate.

She blamed the labour problem partly on the booming resources sector which was drawing workers, infrastructure and services away from rest of the economy.

“That’s why we need to properly analyse and assess all claims about the West’s needs in the decade or so ahead, including claims about the need to attract hundreds of thousands of new workers,” she said.

“There’s no doubt more interstate and overseas migrants will be needed, but we need to look also at how we can achieve better results with the assets that are already available and underused.

“With a youth unemployment rate of almost 10 per cent, there is more work to be done to create the pathways that will give these kids a future.”

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry said labour shortages would hit in the second half of this year, with WA needing an extra 400,000 workers in the decade from 2007. Based on current population trends, there would be 150,000 shortfall.

CCI supports strong migration to alleviate the skills shortage, which threatened to curb WA’s economic growth during the last boom.

The WA Group Training Scheme, which last year sacked some apprentices because of reduced work, said there had been a quick economic turnaround and expectations of boom-level demand this year.

Ms Gillard said an expanded training initiative announced yesterday, creating 11,000 advanced level training places nationally, would help address some of the skills shortage.

Ms Gillard, who heads to the Pilbara today to inspect the $43 billion Gorgon project, warned unions not to engage in unlawful industrial action, singling out the construction union’s Kevin Reynolds and Joe McDonald. “We have got no tolerance for people who seek to break the rules and I am well aware there is a concern in this State over the propensity of some individuals to believe they are beyond the law,” she said.

Mr Reynolds said he was not surprised at being singled out by Ms Gillard over unlawful industrial action, claiming the pair had an adverse relationship. He said migration should be a back-up with the focus on training. 

Ms Gillard said an expanded training initiative announced yesterday, creating 11,000 advanced level training places nationally, would help address some of the skills shortage.

Ms Gillard, who heads to the Pilbara today to inspect the $43 billion Gorgon project, warned unions not to engage in unlawful industrial action, singling out the construction union’s Kevin Reynolds and Joe McDonald. “We have got no tolerance for people who seek to break the rules and I am well aware there is a concern in this State over the propensity of some individuals to believe they are beyond the law,” she said.

Mr Reynolds said he was not surprised at being singled out by Ms Gillard over unlawful industrial action, claiming the pair had an adverse relationship. He said migration should be a back-up with the focus on training.

Source  :  www.thewest.com.au

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What is Australian JobSearch?

JobSearch is Australia’s largest free online jobs website.

 It is funded and operated by the Australian Government as a free service to assist job seekers into employment and connect employers with quality staff.

Job Services Australia providers and public employers upload their job vacancies to JobSearch and search for potentially suitable staff.

Job seekers can search for jobs via the map on the homepage by choosing their state, local area and occupation category. The advanced search function includes more detail in searching criteria.

Everyone is welcome to use JobSearch to search for vacancies. It’s free to register and take advantage of the complete range of services.

Vacancies displayed on JobSearch come from many different sources, including:                                                                   

• public employers
• Job Services Australia providers
• newspapers
• the Australian Public Service
• the Australian Defence Force
• the Harvest Trail.

For job seekers

JobSearch has a range of features to help you search for a job, including:

• free registration for all Australians seeking work
• jobs across all industries and regions of Australia
• your own personal page, where you can create a job match profile, upload your resume and use our instant job list to find jobs based on your skills and experience
• links to employment assistance and information for all job seekers.

For employers

JobSearch has a number of features to help you find the right person for your job, including:

• the ability to search for staff based on criteria in your advertisement using our find staff feature
• high visibility of your jobs – with around 1 million people visiting JobSearch each month
• a secure personal page to manage your advertised jobs or view past jobs
• phone help from the Employer Hotline 13 17 15 to advertise new jobs or check the status of your existing jobs.
• http://jobsearch.gov.au

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Survey highlights skills in demand

More than 40% of Australian employers are struggling to fill positions, according to Manpower’s Fourth Annual Talent Shortage Survey.

Engineers, technicians and machine operators were all in the top 10 list of jobs that employers are having difficult filling.

Nearly 11,500 Australian employers were interviewed as part of the global survey.

“Despite high levels of unemployment in many markets, this year’s talent survey suggests a mismatch between the type of individuals available for work and the specific skills that employers are looking for,” Manpower’s managing director Lincoln Crawley said.

According to Crawley, companies are being pressured to shift their mindset to think more strategically and creatively about how to do more with less and the same approach is being applied to how they manage their talent.

“Employers are looking for ways to accelerate their business strategy with less people. It’s this specificity of skills required in the individuals that employers are now seeking that is creating a sense of talent shortage amidst an overabundant pool of available workers.

“This conundrum is frustrating both employers and individuals,” he said.

According to the survey, skilled trade vacancies have become the most difficult to fill in recent years, moving from eighth place in 2006, to fifth in 2007, fourth in 2008, and second in 2009.

Source :   http://www.liveinaustralia.com/home/news.asp

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