Australia’s General Skilled Immigration Cut

Faced with rising unemployment, the Australian government has decided to cut the number of workers eligible for the general skilled immigration program.

Australia’s intake of skilled workers is to be cut by 18,500 in order to prevent an oversupply of labour.

It will be the first cut to the skilled migration program for more than ten years and will reduce numbers from 133,500 to 115,000.

Workers from the building trades and manufacturing industries will be most affected by the Immigration Department’s decision to remove bricklayers, plumbers, carpenters, welders and metal-fitters from the critical skills list.

These workers will no longer be eligible for permanent residence visas in the general skilled program. Permanent residence visa are still available in the Employer Nomination Scheme and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme

Workers in sectors still affected by skills shortages, such as the medical, engineering and information technology sectors will not be affected by the new provisions.

Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans said the new provisions were needed, “so that migrant workers are meeting skills shortages and not competing with locals for jobs.”

“There are still skills shortages in some sectors, such as health care, and these measures will enable industry to continue to source the skilled professionals they need.”

Mr Evans, while maintaining the standard line that, “Skilled migration plays a crucial role in stimulating the economy,” also warned that, “the Government will remove (more) occupations from the list if demand for those skills can be satisfied by local labour.”

The Australian Master Builders Association believes the migration cuts are warranted.

Chief executive Wil Harnisch told ABC News that the industry is, projecting at least a loss of 50,000 jobs in this industry over the next 12 months and it’s likely more to come.