The UK engineering media
is buzzing with Australia stories. The word is out that we are the hot ticket
for British workers looking for lucrative Australia engineering jobs.
Immigration remains a
sensitive issue for a lot of Australians. It’s easy to understand why, given
the speed at which the population is evolving. Last year’s census revealed that
there are now 21.7m people in Australia, which is a 9% increase from the 2006 figures.
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| 2011 census data shows a steep climb in immigration |
This week we’ve seen
the perils of illegal immigration and the tragic risks to which people are
prepared to expose themselves to get here. This is a serious discussion and it’s
happening in parliament as we speak; it’s beyond my pay grade and I’ll leave it
to the people best placed to resolve the many issues associated with it.
Let’s talk about a
different kind of immigration; let’s talk about white collar workers, those
with advanced, critical skills and where we’re going to find them.
We all know the
background. Massive increases in demand for our natural resources from fast-growing economies with
substantial populations are creating tremendous urgency to develop the
infrastructure that can help meet demand. We have the buyers, we have the
product; the hard part is finding the engineering professionals to get the job
done.
The solution lies in
bringing in contract workers on long term assignments and ensuring that the
skills we bring into Australia temporarily remain here permanently through
training and engagement.
We’ve never had such
strong opportunities to attract engineers from the UK for example. Our brand as
a country of opportunity is growing there more than ever. Every economy in the
world is either suffering, or recovering from, a major financial crisis. Australia,
in the eyes of the technical world, is boom town.
In my years working in
London, I never encountered this degree of interest coming from all areas of the
UK market. It’s time to take advantage of this; it’s in the long term interests
of the Australian economy. The British represent the best source of long term
temporary workers we’ve got. They are one of the world’s most mobile
populations in professional terms, there are no language issues and there are
cultural synergies that make every stage of the process easier.
If this is not a major
target for you as a recruiting organization, it needs to be. It’s a very good
idea to have a specific staffing strategy right now. There’s a lot of
competition for these skills and there’s a limited talent pool anyway (as there
is in every area of global engineering.)
If you’re a British
engineer potentially looking for an exciting foreign opportunity, you need to
make sure you’ve fully considered the Australia option. There’s a chance we may
really need you out here. It’s a great place to bring your family, compared to
many of the more traditional expat spots, and it’s going to be a lot easier
than you think to make it a reality.
Trevor Burne is Managing Director of Talascend. He blogs about Australian engineering jobs, and issues affecting Australian Engineers.
Trevor Burne is Managing Director of Talascend. He blogs about Australian engineering jobs, and issues affecting Australian Engineers.
