Page 2179 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 August 2006
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constrain future investment decisions for employers, employment levels and, ultimately, economic growth.
The lack of appropriately skilled labour is stemming from the development of new kinds of work, a new breed of organisation and new patterns of employment. Additionally, a low-wage base in many industries such as the building and construction industry means that potential workers are not taking up positions in apprenticeships and traineeships and are not developing the world-class skill base that industry requires. Solutions to this problem have been debated across many levels in many states, and the ACT has the opportunity to capitalise on a strong economy and develop solutions to this issue.
The establishment of the ACT Skills Commission in the ACT government’s recent budget is an example of the ACT government moving forward in this area, as is the Live in Canberra campaign conducted in April 2006. Both initiatives seek to encourage the development and transference of skills to the nation’s capital.
By working closely with the Department of Education and Training, the ACT government is able to contribute to the need for a coordinated approach to vocational education and training. If we extend the approach to solving the skill shortage from a domestic focus to an international focus, the ACT government has already been seen to address this issue through the ACT Skilled and Business Migration Program which was set up in 2005. This program has encouraged applications from international businesses and skilled individuals to work in the ACT.
So far, over 257 applications have been approved across both areas, and this is in line with Australia’s migration program focus of encouraging skilled migrants, both temporary and permanent. During 2005-06, approximately 5,000 places were allocated nationally for skilled migration. The advantages for potential employers in the ACT are that there is no migration paperwork, and access to the skill matching database has been set up by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.
A growing population through migration spends and invests more and more, and thus contributes to the expansion of the economy. Along with essentials such as housing and food, migrants help business expansion through investment, which then produces extra goods and services in both the private and government sectors. Migrants also contribute in terms of not only skills and labour but by their contribution to new technologies, innovation and research. In this increasingly technological age and with increasing international cooperation and competition, the move is towards not only improving the skills of workers domestically but also gaining those skills from international sources through skilled migrants.
Other initiatives to increase the ACT skills base have included the recent agreement between the ACT government and Qantas to build a new crew base in Canberra. This agreement creates 30 jobs in Canberra and, along with Qantas’s intention to increase passenger capacity by 12 per cent and the new centre for operations for the maintenance of military and civilian aircraft, it emphasises Canberra airport’s role as an economic force in the region.
It is crucial that the ACT government continue to address skill shortages. By delivering the skills required by industry in a flexible and responsive manner through new skill
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