'Cut migrants' to aid young jobless new report warns

[Migration Help]

THE Rudd government must urgently rein in migration or tens of thousands more young Australians will miss out on their first jobs, a new report warns.

Already, 15- to 24-year-old Australians are bearing the brunt of burgeoning migration levels, their unemployment rate rising from 8.8 per cent to 11.7 per cent in the year to September, the study by Monash University academic Ernest Healy reveals.

And without government action, it would only get worse, said Dr Healy, senior research fellow at the Centre for Population and Urban Research.

"It is now urgent that the federal Labor government take control of the immigration program," his study, "High net migration during a period of no net job growth: Implications for young jobseekers", in the quarterly People and Place publication concludes.

"It should revise the scale of net overseas migration to take account of the sluggish economic climate and its impact on young people.

"If this is not addressed, the combined competitive pressure within the Australian labour market from increasing labour force participation by older persons and historically high net overseas migration will likely continue to diminish and downgrade the employment prospects of younger Australians."

Wayne Swan last month said the next intergenerational report, due before the end of the year, predicted Australia's population would hit 35 million by 2049. This is considerably higher than the 28.5 million predicted by 2047 in the second intergenerational report in 2007.

The population blowout has been put down to higher than expected fertility rates and increased net migration.

Dr Healy accuses the Rudd government of creating a significant labour oversupply in its pursuit of a high migrant intake, mistakenly believing migration is a key to economic growth and an effective counter to the ageing of the nation's workforce.

Between June last year and June this year the number of people who arrived in Australia since 2005 and who entered the workforce grew by 145,700, the report says.

These recently arrived migrants constituted the bulk of total growth in the Australian workforce of 165,200 during this period.

"The government has two diametrically opposed labour-market policies in place. On the one hand, it is trying to protect Australian jobs and jobseekers, yet on the other hand, its record-high migration policy is generating a very large influx of competitors for those jobs," Dr Healy said.

Because older workers are also staying in their jobs longer due to the impact of the global financial downturn on retirement savings, young people cop a double whammy.

In the year to September, the decline in employment for 15- to 24-year-olds was 74,600, the unemployment rate increasing from 8.8 per cent to 11.7 per cent.

The report notes that by comparison, recently arrived migrants have largely succeeded in finding employment despite the limited pool of jobs available.

"There is little doubt that recently arrived migrants who are desperate for work, in part because they cannot access labour-market benefits, are taking jobs locals could have been employed in," Dr Healy said.

"There is a huge and growing population of overseas students, working holidaymakers, temporary visa holders and skilled migrants who cannot find work in their professional fields.

"Many of these migrants are filling entry-level jobs in the services industries that young Australians could and should be employed in."


Article from: The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26216436-5013871,00.html)

[Robert K Chelliah]

My coorporate client needs immediately qualified non.destruction testing engineers/technicians with 4 years of minimum relevan experience in the oil and gas rig inspection industry. Any young Australian there ready for employment. Please email details to rkc@austmigration.com.sg.

By the way the Australian company has run number of vacancy advertisments for the above positons and no response.

So p0lease tell these academics to talk sense, not nonsense. Australia DOES need to import ready made immediatly employable skilled migrants, like the days of 10 pound poms.


Robert K Chelliah

[Silent Observer]

This new report is going to put a spanner in the works as far as immigration goes!

If the stats in the report are true ( and I have no reason to doubt them) the upward trend of unemployment amongst our youth cannot be exacerbated by what seems to be a scatter gun approach to our migration policies.

Our youth come first and a sensible well thought migration policy, put together after a reasoned and rational debate about immigration to Australia in general, should then be instituted to ensure that Australians are not disadvantaged.

Secondly, my suggestion to the minister would be to cut off migration via GSM to anyone coming from a First World country unless they have skills considered absolutely critical to our country. These people after all live in mature economies, and generally have support systems to fall back on when unemployment rises.

Keep the GSM (with a flexible MODL) for migrants coming from non-first world countries. These people generally have it tougher in their home-countries and we should be helping them first, as their needs are generally purely economic based and not because they want to come to Aus for the lifestyle or the beaches etc. I understand they need support and assistance and have problems with English and integrating into the work force etc. But let's spend the money this way rather than by faceless 'donations' and grants via the World Bank etc, the effects of which are difficult to quantify and often seem to be just a hopeless waste of everyone's time and money.

Whatever the government/Minister decides to do with its/his migration policies, in my view it will be a long time before those who use the GSM stream to migrate to Australia will have is as easy their predecessors.

SO

[Sheelagh Blanckenberg]

This report may be right on many levels. However, you cannot force people to study or train in any particular field. So what do you do in those occupations where the young do not want to train?

Non-destructive technicians are like hen's teeth in Australia. I have worked with WA employers who have tried everything they can think of to encourage people to go in to this occupation and have failed miserably. What are they to do? Close up shop because they cannot find anyone with the skills? It is just so much easier to go offshore and recruit. (The Philippines is a good place to look by the way Robert if you are interested as is South Africa.)

Another huge example of this is in relation to the myriad of occupations performed by 'asphalt workers'. All the regional projects coming on stream as well as those in the pipeline need roads to be built as well as airstrips in many. Without these forget the project - it doesn't go ahead. Zip. Nothing gets in or out.

Nobody wants to go into this business (cant say I really blame them though - breathing all those fumes, working in 40c+ temperatures - a nightmare!). So what to do?

I managed the migration work for a large Aussie company in this space. They have spent (and still spend) huge amounts of money, time and effort on attracting Aussie staff. The response has been pathetic! They have been trying for 2 years to get a labour agreement through so that they can bring in workers from overseas. They are quite happy to pay Aussie Award rates and above plus plus plus. DIAC would okay it - the stumbling block - DEEWR!! Will not hear of it. There is 7% uenmployment in Tas they say - asphalt workers being amongst those most heavily unemployed. Recruit them they say or others like them from around the country!

This company had a massive recruiting campaign countrywide over a 9 month period. They got a handful of responses!! And this is a company that needs hundreds! So what to do? Shanghai people off the streets of Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne and ship them in chains to regional WA?

If companies cannot go offshore to recruit skilled people we must then stop developing these resource projects. Its a nonsense otherwise. And reports like this one from Monash Uni just fuel the fear of migrants and job taking within the large cities of Australia without any regard for what is happening regionally.

[digger]

It's something of a twist on getting the horse to water but drinking is their decision.

In this case, the water is there but it's not attractive enough to even encourage the trip it would seem.
If you look at it from the governments perspective, they do not want to tolerate high unemployment levels, nor do they want to be accused of facilitating workers being brought into the country while there is high unemployment.

They'll be hoping that market forces will prevail and that the employers may have to up the offers to entice employees.
The employers may have to be stronger in negotiating with product buyers though labour and infrastructure costs is possibly a minimal % of overall cost.

One thing for sure, it'll be a far better result to have young, indigenous and even older experienced people already resident back into the work force than having them idle while we import more employees.
And Robert, does your corporate client invest in a bit of training or even being prepared to take on older employees who may need less in way of retraining.

I'm surprised with a couple of paragraphs extracted from theAge article, ie.

"It is now urgent that the federal Labor government take control of the immigration program," his study, "High net migration during a period of no net job growth: Implications for young jobseekers", in the quarterly People and Place publication concludes.

"It should revise the scale of net overseas migration to take account of the sluggish economic climate and its impact on young people. "

It might be the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday and the GFC horse has already bolted without negotiating the starting stalls but has Dr. Healy not taken note of the jockeying for the rails position by DIAC with their prioritisation program and Capping.

A friend mentioned that there's a forum he has a look at now and again where there's a Senator Evans Lynch Mob forming!, apparently some really peeved people about as a result of the extensive tightening already having taken place progressively since the start of the year.

[Sheelagh Blanckenberg]

I cannot comment on Robert's client but I did the migration work for a Dutch company in WA that does amongst other things non-destructive testing. I know for a fact they have tried every path they can think of to get Australians - local indigenous, the elderly, women (they stopped short at child slave labour thank goodenss ;) ) - to consider training in this field. Zip diddly squat. They resorted to bringing in highly skilled NDT techs from the Philippines - the most junior was on a package of over $80,000. More senior supervisors $150k plus. The Dutch owners were shocked they could get no Aussies even remotely interested.

Ditto the national asphalting company. They have linkages with various TAFEs to train people in this area. They spend enormous amounts on trying to get indigenous communities wherever possible to get involved. They struggle. The result- often the professional engineering staff have to turn their hand at screeding or whatever it is called - ASCO 9 level jobs of raking asphalt, tidying road edges etc etc. Your average Aussie civil engineer does not last long when they find out that in order to get the job done they are expected to do these sorts of jobs (and I dont blame them - you dont go to uni for 4 years to end up raking asphalt in 47c heat on a road in the middle of nowhere). Result. Ridiculously high turnover of professional staff. What to do?

And DIAC are clueless when it comes to the realities of what is happening on the ground around the country. The policy makers sit in Canberra and are dictated to by the whims/fads/notions of the government of the day. Although our Minister of Immigration is a good old boy from WA his hands will be tied by all the politicking and lobbying going on. The present government has wound back all sorts of job reforms and the unions are flexing muscles not used in a number of years.

The community at large are worried about what is seen as rampant numbers of migrants; we have the global warming/greenie groups scaring the heck out of us all about the hell soon to be unleashed on earth due to mans' overpopulation and over consumption. Who does one believe. What does one do? But through another shrimp on the barbie, pop open a stubbie, turn on the telly and watch Kath and Kim or the cricket.

In fact, I'm going to do that right now! :)

[Sheelagh Blanckenberg]

A friend mentioned that there's a forum he has a look at now and again where there's a Senator Evans Lynch Mob forming!, apparently some really peeved people about as a result of the extensive tightening already having taken place progressively since the start of the year.

If its one of those devoted to the English market, yes I have been following with interest the outpouring of emotion. On the one hand allowing people to vent in this way is carthatic and they quite rightly have cause to be angry and upset.

However, in my view, it was allowed to go on too long, it is being driven by some (a) very smart seasoned poster(s) with an agenda and at the end of the day the wood was lost through the forest of trees! Plus, does anyone in their right mind believe that if Chris Evans and /or any of his staff has see some of the things that have been written about him, that this will be conducive to getting him on side? He is only human after all and some of the stuff that has been said is a disgrace in my view. Yes attack the policies and the issues but please leave out the personal comments.