The Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC) has called for tradespeople to be included in the ‘Specialist Skills Pathway’ following the release of the new Australian Government Migration Strategy.
“Restricting tradespeople from this category will likely mean priorities will go to applicants who can’t do things like fixing the brakes on a car,” said VACC CEO Geoff Gwilym.
“VACC and the national automotive peak body, the Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA), have for some time pointed out the time lags and speed humps that need to be tackled to get tradies into the country.”
The VACC welcomed the overarching principles of the review, but said the specialist skills fast-track process should extend to trades once the model is proven.
“If we can fast-track specialist skills personnel, then why not trade applicants as well,” said Gwilym.
The VACC said it is in favour of new four-year visas as it gives stability to workers, their families and employers. However, extending the capacity for sponsored migrant workers to more easily move between employers needs strong safeguards to ensure “rogue” employers don’t poach sponsored migrants from employers who have made significant investments in time and money to locate and support the movement of workers into their business.
“The last thing we want to see is a dispute between employers about who will pay the fees and costs associated with attracting a sponsored worker who is actively coached to move to another employer,” said Gwilym.