It is not just mines and construction that need skilled employees – the entire country needs skilled labour – and there is expected to be major shortfalls between now and 2030.
Unemployment figures have dropped from 237,000 in 2010 to 219,000 in 2011 (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations) despite the normal increases in the population.
A survey conducted by Bankwest with 800 business professionals across a range of industries revealed:
- 40 per cent of businesses face difficulties in recruitment.
- 41 per cent claim that it takes more than three months longer to recruit staff than it did a year ago.
- 66.7 per cent indicated they were now reliant on using overtime to meet the increasing demand for output.
If overtime and undersupply is eating into your profits, foreign staff offer a viable, cost effective source of labour in the medium term.
Many of our business clients at The Migration Place, claim foreign workers tend to be highly appreciative and loyal, as the work visa has allowed them to escape their own economies – which are either woefully depressed (eg Ireland, Greece, England) or have always suffered low wage rates (India, the Phillipines, China).
The reality is that a sponsored employee needs to be loyal as their visa depends upon a happy employer, so the work visa system tends to lead to a happy employee, and a happy employer.
We can draft employment contracts which protect you as part of the migration process, whilst also giving the business peace of mind.