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The Government cut 14 skills out of 26 from its 'skills in demand list,' which is a similar system to the Work Permits list of IT skills in demand in the UK. Consequently, foreign workers will no longer be able to apply for the same projects as their Australian IT contractor counterparts in these skills sets as they could before.
The Australian state of Canberra was one of the country's leading areas for the promotion of using IT workers on FTVs, publicising its drive to import from countries like India, however, now the market has fallen, Ministers like Tony Abbott, who is responsible for Employment and Workplace relations is actively helping to curb their influx.
Australian IT sector vacancies: Jan 2000-June 2002 |
Australian IT skills in demand: 1998-1998 |
Mr Abbott recently acknowledged some computer professionals with specialised skills were having difficulty finding work and said current migration arrangements may be changed to reduce the number of new migrants with computer skills to improve job prospects for resident IT contractors.
Over the ten years to August 1998, employment of IT skills in Australia rose by 85,600 or 39.5 per cent, well above the growth for all other occupations. There was particularly strong jobs growth for some key IT skills, including: computing professionals (135 per cent); information technology managers (128 per cent); and electronic and office equipment tradespersons (66.2 per cent).
However, in a study conducted by the Government in June 2002, the Computing and IT sector had the lowest amount of shortages by occupation in a list of 20 sectors.
The Australian Government has announced specific schemes this year to ensure that future skills shortages in the IT sector are met in-house first. It launched an 'Innovation New Apprenticeships' initiative in May, offering employers an additional $1,100 in financial incentives for taking on a new apprentice in Information Technology. The report that announced the initiative said: 'By tackling skill needs in the IT and innovation industries we will help promote the growth and competitiveness of Australia’s information economy.'
Australia is also attempting to train 46,000 older Australians in IT skills through a four-year, $23 million Budget initiative.
The Professional Contractors Group has had some success with having skills removed from the UK IT shortage list, but many more remain in sectors where UK IT contractors are out of work and reports of abuses of the system are rife.
Many foreign IT workers who came in to fill the demand in both the UK and Australia under their respective schemes were from India, causing a 'brain drain' in the developing nation according to a recent Shout99.com report.
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Richard Powell, © Shout99.com 2002
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