The Australian Motor Industry Federation (AMIF) says the current visa debate is distorting what is happening in regional and rural communities across Australia.
AMIF says commentary by government and politicians that the current visa scheme is ‘riddled with rorts’; that there should be a cap on 457 visas and Australians should be at the head of jobs queues are a “gross distortion of the facts, and an emotive response to a valuable source of expertise”.
AMIF CEO, Richard Dudley says an environmental scan conducted by national automotive training body, Auto Skills Australia, reveals a current nationwide shortage of 19,000 skilled mechanics alone.
“If we could find 19,000 skilled mechanics in the Australian-based workforce, we would employ them, but they simply do not exist.
“We have an environment where automotive businesses are closing each week with lack of staff a key reason,” says Dudley.
“The federal government’s own Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) has reconfirmed the shortages we are experiencing with a decision to retain a status of shortage against many automotive professions appearing on the skilled migration list in only the last few weeks.
“DEEWR says that for all positions advertised nationwide, on average, only half are filled,” says Dudley.
AMIF says the government’s commentary that the mining and resources industry are not high end 457 visa users distorts the real issues and the real impacts.
“While the mining industry may itself not utilise 457 visas to a great extent, the facts are that this industry has already vacuumned local communities across the nation of people – including mechanics, other motor trades professionals and other skilled workers – and this combined with a diminishing labour pool mean 457 visas are essential to maintain the expertise needed to provide services.
“In Emerald, Queensland, the local new hospital could not source nurses because they had been employed by the mining industry to drive trucks. In the same regional centre a local vehicle retailer is flying in mechanics from Brisbane on rotation and employing others under 457 visas to replace the mechanics, body repairers and others who all went to the mining industry.”
Dudley says the Australian automotive industry is a high end user of 457 visas and will continue to draw heavily on this employment strategy – otherwise there is a real potential for Australia’s reliance on road transport to grind to a halt in regional and rural areas.
“Rather than continue to generate some sort of employment class war and social concern, the government should be working with all parts of industry together to better plan for a diminishing labour pool, impacts of globalisation and the needs of all Australians to access all the services they need.”
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