Last week, Francisco, a highly skilled architect, and construction project manager, who is consulting on the renovation of the office we just bought, checked his phone in the middle of our meeting and disappointedly delivered the news that the full-time job he had been offered had fallen through, because of his changing student visa status.
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From July 1, his student visa status will change from allowing him to work full-time, to only being allowed to work part-time as he continues his studies.
He could spend several years obtaining recognition of his skills and take a gamble on the lottery that is points tested skilled migration, or he could find an employer who understands how the system works and is prepared to take him on board.
The problem for Francisco, and many others like him, is that many employers don't know the first thing about employing or sponsoring migrants, and for others the process is too convoluted, expensive or the goalposts are constantly changing.
Several research papers into graduate visa outcomes pre-COVID gave very disappointing feedback from many visa holders; like employers being unwilling to take them on full-time because of the temporary nature of the visa or because sponsorship was deemed too costly.
Engineers Australia understand this and have written an entire paper outlining how to encourage Australian employers to employ migrants.
As well they should, since 65 per cent of engineers employed in Australia are from overseas.
Alarmingly, pre-COVID statistics showed that only one Australian graduated in the discipline of petroleum engineering in 2019.
Employer sponsored migration is more successful than points tested skilled migration.
Research indicates that only 50 per cent of those entering the country via the points test - where you don't need a job pre-arranged to get permanent residence - end up working in their highly skilled field.
The other 50 per cent end up in lower skilled jobs, which resulted in foregone wages of $1.25 billion between 2013 and 2018.
In comparison to the points test system, sponsorship by employers delivers on taxes and skillsets immediately and given the costs of sponsorship, employers will only commit to the process if they have the right candidate for their needs.
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Currently the processes for employers to sponsor migrants are non-aligned, lengthy, and confusing.
One of the keys to encouraging employers to consider the sponsorship process is education. And we also need to make sure that migrants aren't being exploited or taken advantage of.
Here are some suggestions for improving employer sponsorship outcomes and education.
- An online federal government guide for employers where they can easily measure the equivalence of their potential employee's educational qualification, with Australian standards.
- Encourage regional local government chambers of commerce to emulate the work done in areas like Orana in NSW, where migrants have made, and continue to make a significant contribution to the community and economy, aided by the local Regional Development Australia office. Improved job matching between employers and migrants, needs to be a cornerstone of any regional migrant employment or sponsorship scheme, to ensure its success.
- Use the Skilling Australians Fund, which is an expensive training contribution fee that employers pay, to sponsor migrants.
- Coordinate with the Fair Work Ombudsman to ensure migrants are paid fair and appropriate wages. While we have international students waiting extended periods on temporary visas before an employer will pay them award wages, the issue of exploitation will not go away.
- Streamline the process to recognise the overseas qualifications of migrants moving to Australia. Thankfully, work is already underway to speed up the process, which is one of the leading factors why employers are reluctant for to sponsor migrants.
As Australia grapples with a challenging global economy, and an ongoing skills shortage, we've seen successive governments hold many reviews, and publish numerous reports on migration, and how best to utilise it to grow the economy.
Overhauling and simplifying the migrant sponsorship program for employers has been often discussed but has never been properly addressed.
In my opinion, now is the time to create a clear, affordable and speedy pathway for employers to match and sponsor skilled migrants with the jobs we desperately need filled.
It's time for government to stop kicking the migrant sponsorship can down the road, and take action.
- Melanie Macfarlane is executive director of the International Student Education Agents Association.
