Sector throws support behind plan to tackle national skills shortage

Posted on 08 Oct 2024

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

The not-for-profit sector has joined an alliance of business groups, unions, social services and community organisations in a new campaign to address the nation's skills shortage.

Led by Settlement Services Australia, more than 50 organisations, including the Community Council for Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Amnesty International and Diversity Council Australia, have thrown their support behind the Activate Australia’s Skills campaign.

The groups have endorsed an open letter to all major political parties calling for urgent action to help people with quality overseas qualifications living in Australia to secure jobs in areas of need such as construction and healthcare.

The alliance said that while a third of Australian occupations are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, almost half of permanent migrants living in Australia – more than 621,000 people – work well below their skill level.

“We have doctors and electricians driving ride shares. We have engineers stacking shelves. We have nurses and pharmacists cleaning offices.”

Violet Roumeliotis, CEO, Settlement Services International.

More than a third of Australian occupations are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers
Half of permanent migrants living in Australia work well below their skill level
An estimated 90% of the nation’s businesses report skills shortages, and around half indicate a significant negative impact on their business
Skills shortages are particularly acute in regional Australia, with job vacancies increasing at three times the rate of those in metropolitan areas
Four out of five occupations in the health sector are suffering a shortage of skilled workers, with almost 200 GP clinics closing across the nation in the past year
The building and construction sector is grappling with a nationwide shortage of tradies, while 18,400 permanent migrants with architecture and building qualifications are underutilised
An estimated $9 billion could be added to the economy each year if the skills gap between migrants and Australian-born workers were closed.

Campaign convenor Violet Roumeliotis, the CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), said Australia’s skills recognition system is in desperate need of modernisation, but the cost-of-living and housing crisis has added a sense of urgency to the situation.

“Hundreds of thousands of Australians are blocked from using overseas qualifications by an endless maze of red tape and hurdles unrelated to their actual skills and experience,” said Roumeliotis.

Violet Roumeliotis, CEO, Settlement Services International.

“Meanwhile, we have communities suffering from skills shortages that mean people can’t access essential services, prices are going up and businesses are put at risk – especially in the outer suburbs and regions.”

The alliance has drafted a blueprint for activating Australia’s overseas-trained workforce which maps out four key changes it wants all parties to commit to ahead of the next federal election:

A single national governance system for all overseas skills and qualifications recognition, including an ombudsman with regulatory power to provide independent oversight and transparency
A seamless skills activation process with reduced red tape
Removal of cost barriers and the introduction of an online portal with information on what people need to do and where they can get help
Establishment of migrant employment pathway hubs with skills recognition navigators to help get qualified people from overseas working in their professions again.

Skills orgs — The 50 groups that have signed on for the Activate Australia's Skills campaign include a diverse range of organisations from the not-for-profit sector, business, unions, social services and community organisations.

Roumeliotis said the skills recognition system had become so complicated that the things that matter most – quality and experience – can get lost in a fog of hugely expensive fees, outdated paperwork, and slow, complex processes.

“We have doctors and electricians driving ride shares. We have engineers stacking shelves. We have nurses and pharmacists cleaning offices,” she said.

“The Activate Australia’s Skills Blueprint will get these experienced workers back into their professions: building houses, helping regional communities, caring for our loved ones.

“The diversity and power of the new alliance shows these solutions are popular and common sense. Everyone wins.”