Crazy consequence of our migration policy or clever ploy by business to go offshore?

[Migration Help]

Is this what Australia wants and/or needs? Companies outsourcing their IT needs offshore to countries like Indonesia? From an Australian society perspective it does not seem right for jobs to be going offshore. However, it could be seen as a good neighbour outcome - a more tangible, sensible and financially prudent way of assisting a developing country right on our doorstep instead of the usual throwing around of monetary donations.

What do you think?

SEE: www.pr-inside.com/outsourcing-strategy-crucial-to-controlling-r1524565.htm for full story.


OUTSOURCING STRATEGY CRUCIAL TO CONTROLLING COSTS DURING UPCOMING IT SKILLS SHORTAGE IN AUSTRALIA

Australian IT companies planning software development projects next year, when a predicted skills shortage begins to bite and wages escalate, will find a silver lining if they embrace the right outsourcing strategy.

Mike Page, vice president of software development for Bali headquartered company Mitrais was commenting on the findings of an IDC Australia report released this week.

The report predicts a shortage in skilled IT labor due to a decline in the number of foreign workers on 457 visas, combined with a low level of student enrolments in tertiary IT education courses.


“Australian IT companies should use the opportunity to explore the outsourcing of software development to Indonesia to avoid the impact of escalating salaries which will result from this shortage, as well as the two obstacles to successful outsourcing- distance and cultural differences,” Mr. Page said.

The ability to recruit and train top quality graduates from Indonesia’s specialized IT universities is a critical factor in the decision of many Australian companies to outsource software development

Mr. Page said while cost remains a major driver in decisions about where to outsource, the quality of the labor pool is gaining importance as companies view the labor market through a global lens driven by talent shortages at home, particularly in higher, valued-added functions.

Indonesia rose a further step up the ladder of most attractive outsourcing destinations to enter the top five according to global management consulting firm, A.T. Kearney’s latest Global Services Location Index (GSLI).

[digger]

Outsourcing is not new and has been occurring for a number of years and it is all about what can be done for $$$$ where.

It must nearly be about five years ago that Peter Costello was asked in a media interview about Telstra setting up an overseas call centre and his idiotic answer I remember so well "They can't do that can they?, and typical politician, "I'll have [to polish up the mirror] to look at that!!!

Politicians only know about level playing fields/WTO or some of the former when it comes to a cricket ground.

And already it's solely labour costs that have seen a lot of Australian manufacturing industries no longer in operation, the US, UK, Europe all seeing the same with unemployment rates.

And for IT it is not just call centres for radiographic examinations can be transmitted virtually anywhere to get a reading and then a report typed up and transmitted back for printing off.

There'll likely be much more to follow.

[Robert K Chelliah]

It is inevitable in the borderless global market. It all boils down to "Unit Cost of Labour". As third world countries' advances in technology and work smart ethos, Entrepreneurs from developed countries( = high cost per unit of labour) would prefer to outsource to developing countries with low cost of production. Digital technology will facilitate this. My Amex card outsourced my accounts to India.

The down side in these 3rd world countries is when you can buy the national defence secret for a bottle of whisky, or where customers' data contacts can bought for a few pounds in a sting operation. Both these happened in India a few years back.

The Indian IT world is a unique example of the interplay between the advanced technology in the 3rd world and the labour expensive developed countries.


It is too late to reverse the process, unless by protectionism and that to is difficult in the thrust of global free trade.


Robert K Chelliah

[Sheelagh Blanckenberg]

Thanks Digger and Robert.

It is a vexed question for both first world and developing countries but the trend has started and will be difficult if nigh on impossible to stop.

What should Australia do then? We have lost so many jobs in the manufacturing sector, IT, as well as in radiography as Digger points out. Even in the engineering sector drafting is being outsourced to India because of cheaper costs, well-educated draftspeople and the time difference. A drawing request can be sent in the afternoon from Australia and returned by start of business the next day in Aus. Perfect for business here.

When I lived in China 6 years ago we lived close to a business that did cartoon drawings for Walt Dysney Productions and other graphic/cartoon studios. The American CEO had a 24 hour, 4 shifts per day operation going which continually fed the US and European markets.

How can we compete with that?

Just keep digging our resources out of the ground? Tourism? International students?

[digger]

I do not know that a lot can be done Sheelagh other than protectionism as Robert indicates.

I doubt that the Union movement fully realise that they were just shooting of some remaining toes with the anti Work Choices campaign that saw Labor win office.
The Liberals did not articulate on the situation at all, for fear of being seen to oppose WTO open market policies I can only imagine but having greater flexibility of working conditions between employers/employees would have been one approach to competing with much lower labour cost regions.

I recall attending a community meeting with a younger Joe Hockey and HoR speaker present about ten years ago, about the time when orange juice extract was being imported from Brazil and SAust. Riverina farmers started out ploughing oranges into the ground before a few years later it was dozing orchards and planting vines only to find many are now no better off for there is a market glut with wineries having no storage space, storage tanks full from previous year etc. and contracts not being renewed.
At the time I posed the question to the pollies on how the benefit of the WTO policies were measured for Australia.
ANS. - Well how much are you paying for product!

We do have some dumb ass politicians it seems, surrounded by just as dumb advisors.

I fear for the living standards of the future, they creeping up on us already, The GFC just a sign of the times are at an end of living on credit.
Kapitan Krudd's Karbon policies will be about as good for us as the KKK was and is for the US and it'll mean more job losses and higher costs of living.
A site I've not yet visited myself www.stopemissionsnotjobs.com.au might be worth a look.

Do you believe in humans being the course of global warming and if so, to what extent, for there were far less of us on the planet back around 1900 when the River Murray virtually dried up - photos in NSW Art Gallery if you care to google.
That time era co-incides with when the NW passage last ice melt occurred.
Co-incidences or just one of natures cycles?

As for the Kapitans plan for putting CO2 underground, other people are pulling it out for deathly good reasons - have a read of the suffocation overnight of 1700 people in their sleep - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageplanet/01volcano/01/indexmid.html

The politicians/bureacrats who are saying pump CO2 underground may not be around when an earth tremor or whatever causes a massive leak.

But my own prediction is that yep, life is going to get tougher for many
And unemployment rates in Australia will grow.
We'll survive on what is dug out of the ground, services and tourism.
And then as oil reserves plummey even further, life will get more interestingly tougher again.

Immigration concerns are but a side show.

Meanwhile, successive governments will continue to fail us for acting in their self interest.
. There'll be massive public monies wastage on popular projects
. Decentralisation will never occur
. There'll be no preparation for the future, the likes of a massive water harnessing system, bringing Gulf of Carpentaria tropical season waters south, not an impossible project by any means given what occurred with the Snowy Mountains/Hume Weir etc.
That in itself would create
. massive work opportunities
. potential for training/employing indigenous people - a culture change for them.
. a far greater reliable water food bowl region.
. potential for more people to take up farming, existing farmers rapidly ageing.

The essentials of life are Water, Food, Shelter and Clothing.

How well prepared are we with that for the future?
And would $45B be far better spent on the future essentials than the Kapitan's super highway BB plan that no one really wants at $200/mth. apparently and especially seeing as wireless is alleged to be the future.

Far better than to be waterless!

Off the soap box now.
.

[Sheelagh Blanckenberg]

A man after me own heart digger :). Couldnt have said all that more eloquently meself!

As to KK's carbon emission scheme - dont get me started.

Why dont they just stop fooling around and call it a carbon tax.

And guess what, ITS GONNA BE A MUCH BIGGER TAX THAN THE GST, and look at what angst this country went through before the GST was introduced!

This latest 'tax' is just being bulldozed through with nary a whimper. Why? Because everyone is too scared to say anything or criticize it or just have a sensible debate about it in case one is seen to be a non-greenie or anti the environment. How many people do you know hate the environment and want to see it ruined? What have we come to as a society if we are too scared to openly debate this sort of thing? I am not a scientist and I admit to knowing absolutely nothing about how the earth's ecosystems etc hang together. But by golly one thing I am certain of is that it is always healthy to read between the lines of any mantra spewed by any pollie or government.