Skilled migration on the agenda for UK visit
A 12 person strong delegation led by Training and Workforce Development Minister Peter Collier is visiting the UK and Ireland to make people aware of the opportunities available in Western Australia for skilled migrants. “WA is facing a potential shortfall of up to 150,000 additional skilled workers by 2017, demand that is driven by strong growth in the State’s resources industry,” Mr Collier said.
“This will in turn place pressure on many of the State’s other sectors, presenting significant challenges for government, industry and the community as the demand for skilled labour increases. The degree of support for skilled migration is evident from the delegation which includes the Chief Executive Officers of major associations and companies including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy, the Australian Hotels Association, Motor Trades Association, Civil Contractors Federation, Construction Training Fund as well as representatives of companies such as John Holland, Skilled Hire and ERTECH.
While in the UK the delegation met with a range of key organisations over a 10 day period to champion WA’s position as a leading destination for skilled migrants.
Minister Collier, delegates and staff from the European office promoted Western Australia at a range of migration-related events in Leeds, Aberdeen, Dublin and London. These events are seen as important in promoting WA’s attributes to potential skilled migrants.
Mr Collier also made prospective migrants aware of the recently launched Skilled Migration Portal www.migration.wa.gov.au/ ; the latest in a series of endeavours the State Government has rolled out as part of a strategic and broad approach to help address future skills demands and showed a video about migration to WA.
Australian Bureau of Statistic figures show that more migrants from the UK choose WA as a destination to settle than any other state. Potential migrants can now access a single web-based point of entry for accurate and current information on skilled migration.
“It includes access to information on living and working in WA, migration pathways and visas, opportunities for State Sponsorship, the WA Skilled Migration Occupation List and links to other useful sites, such as the Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Tourism WA, and the Small Business Development Corporation,” he said.
Kerry Sanderson said that the visit had done much to increase the awareness about the extent of economic activity in Western Australia and the ability for a migrant to contribute to this new growth phase, while enjoying a quality life style in Perth which is regularly ranked in the top 10 places in the world to live and highly sought after for its quality of life.
