PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has welcomed the final report by the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, saying it made sensible recommendations to the skilled migration program that would boost innovation and productivity in Australian mining.

“Over 500 000 temporary migrants have left Australia since the Covid-19 pandemic began, and the lack of skilled migrants coupled with record low unemployment has led to major skill shortages in many sectors of the Australian economy,” said Committee chairperson Julian Leeser this week.

“The government has implemented many of the recommendations the Committee made in the interim report in relation to skills shortages in the economy and their impact on the viability of businesses and their ability to create more jobs for Australians.

“In its report, the Committee has made recommendations addressing a range of issues including a whole of government approach to address skills shortages, providing clearer pathways to permanency and enabling the best and brightest international students to come and stay here to help us fill persistent skills shortages.”

Leeser said that the report also recommends a number of measures aimed at cleaning up and streamlining the skilled migration system, including consolidating the skills lists, replacing Australian and New Zealand Standard Classifications of Occupation, providing more concessions for regional visas, improving customer service from Home Affairs and streamlining Labour Market Testing and the Skilling Australia Fund.

“The MCA has advocated for a more agile and responsive skilled migration program to address critical skills shortages, recognise emerging occupations and remove barriers to innovation,” said CEO Tania Constable.

“A dynamic national workforce plan coordinated by the Commonwealth government would bring an integrated approach to Australia’s higher education and vocational education systems, employment services and the skilled migration program.

“And replacing the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations – which has failed to account for new occupations – with a new occupation and/or skills identification system is a smart reform to support greater innovation.”

Constable said that a single skilled migration list would reduce duplication, make the migration system easier to navigate for employers and visa applicants and allow more focus on skills planning and the development of accepted definitions of acute and persistent skills shortages.

“Skilled migrants may make up less than 1% of the resources workforce, yet are vital in meeting the workforce needs of the sector by filling critical skills gaps.

“Since 2000, the minerals industry has invested more than A$65-million into skills and education initiatives through the Minerals Tertiary Education Council, benefiting more than 5 500 Australians by supporting the key disciplines of mining engineering, metallurgy and minerals geoscience to deliver a pipeline of skilled professionals to the industry.

“The minerals industry has also committed to create 5 000 new apprenticeships over the next few years.

“While mining companies always prefer to train, hire and retain Australians, an efficient and effective skilled migration system is crucial in tackling both temporary and structural skills shortages,” Constable said.