PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Western Australia’s Goldfields region will be among the first in Australia to enter into the five-year Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) with the commonwealth government.

The DAMA is aimed at ensuring skilled migrants contribute through employment in key roles where Australian workers are not available.

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said that the new arrangements will assist a range of industries including mining, engineering, construction, childcare and health among others helping to drive economic growth and fill critical employment gaps.

Covering 73 occupations, up to 500 people per year will be able to be sponsored over the five-year agreement through the Kalgoorlie-Boulder DAMA.

“Our first priority is always to fill jobs with Australians, but the immigration system can play an important role in helping to address regional skills gaps. We have seen the success of the DAMA arrangement in the Northern Territory and the government is committed to supporting the skills needs of regional Australia where Australian workers are not available to fill those jobs,” said Coleman.

The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) said on Thursday that the DAMA would help to ease the current workforce demand pressures in the region, while also assisting to grow the region into the future.

“Many of our member companies in the resources sector are struggling to attract and retain new employees due to a tightening labour market and skills shortage,” said CME CEO Paul Everingham.

“The resources sector workforce in the Goldfields region is anticipated to rise over the next few years, with some positive influence from the nickel sector.

“There is currently significant investment in exploration to discover new deposits to maintain production levels and as a result, employees in the gold sector are particularly in demand. The implementation of this DAMA will be transformational in its impact on the Goldfields community and ensure the region continues its strong growth.”