The Aristos Group

Howard Johnson

Foreign Tradies Are Flocking To Australia

Foreign tradies are flocking to Australia to take thousands of jobs construction bosses can't get locals to fill

  • Visas for mechanics, chefs, carpenters and electricians rose by 34 per cent
  • The figure comes after the Government vowed to give locals first pick of all jobs
  • Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said there aren’t enough locals to fill positions

Foreign workers are flooding into Australia to take thousands of jobs construction bosses can’t get locals to fill.  New figures reveal the number of Australians taking up trades has declined over the past six years, while more temporary skilled worker visas are being handed out than ever before. 

Visas granted for mechanics, chefs, welders, carpenters and electricians rose from  7,200 to 9,200 nationally from 2018 to 2019.  In Queensland, that figure rose from 880 to nearly 1,200 in the same time period.  The statistics come after the government revamped foreign worker visas and vowed to give Australians first pick of all available jobs.

Opposition immigration spokeswoman Kristina Keneally asked why the Coalition were letting the number of people on foreign worker visas grow – particularly in Queensland. 

‘It’s clear the Morrison Government’s changes to the 457 visa system two years ago were an attempt to cover up their failure to train Queensland workers for Queensland jobs,’ she said. 

Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said the Coalition had created a ‘serious tradie shortage’ in the state. 

‘Scott Morrison’s cuts to TAFE mean Queenslanders aren’t being trained in these critical trades,’ she said. 

Other members of the Labor party said the Coalition Government ‘failed to train Queenslanders’.

But acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge maintained bosses only hire foreign workers when they can’t find locals to do the job. 

‘We don’t want to hold up major projects in Australia because of lack of qualified people,’ he said.  

The number of foreign tradies being accepted into the country was much higher than other jobs including managers, community workers, administration and sales. 

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Australia faces skills shortage due to failed training

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More Great News About Australian Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs)

BOOSTING AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION: DAMA II MARKS SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR

Northern Territory businesses sought to fill 520 positions with skilled migrants in 2019 – a 263 per cent year-on-year increase – following a major change to the NT’s Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA).

DAMA II, a bilateral agreement between the Northern Territory and Federal Governments, came into effect on January 1, 2019 with the inclusion of a pathway to permanent residency.

Unlike the first DAMA between the two jurisdictions, DAMA II visa holders can apply for permanent residency after working in the Territory for at least three years.

As a result of this inclusion, local businesses have requested to fill 520 positions with skilled migrants in the first year of DAMA II – almost equalling the 573 positions sought for the entire four years of the first DAMA.

So far, 52 local businesses have been endorsed by MigrationNT and have entered into Labour Agreements with the Department of Home Affairs. These businesses can now hire overseas workers in positions they have not been able to fill by Australians.

A further 37 businesses have received endorsement from MigrationNT and are working with Home Affairs in finalising Labour Agreements.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said his government advocated for the inclusion of the pathway to permanent residency in the second agreement, after listening to Territory business owners.

“The Territory Labor Government’s number one priority is jobs for Territorians but access to, and retention of, a suitably skilled workforce is a key issue for many employers,” Mr Gunner said.

“That’s why our government fought hard for the inclusion of the pathway to permanent residency (PPR) in the DAMA II, to support our Territory businesses to fill job shortages with skilled international migrants and to keep workers in the Territory long term.”

The new agreement identifies 117 shortage occupations, which employers can apply to fill with skilled international workers, up by 36 on the first DAMA.

“We knew this new PPR and the addition of 36 extra occupations would appeal to Territory businesses and the huge increase in businesses seeking to fill positions with skilled migrants in the first year has proven it,” Mr Gunner said.

“Every Territorian benefits when we attract more people to the Territory. More people means more jobs and a stronger economy, which means better schools, better hospitals and more police.”

Employers who apply to fill positions with overseas nationals must first demonstrate they have been unable to fill the position locally.

Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said the Federal Government is committed to supporting the growth of regional Australia, which includes all of the NT.

“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,” Mr Tudge said.

“DAMA II provides a platform for local businesses to access the skills they need to meet their specific workforce requirements, where they have demonstrated Australians are not available to fill those jobs.

“Importantly, by giving local businesses the tools to attract skilled workers and boost the population of regional areas, we create more local jobs and a thriving economy.”

The first four year DAMA between the Federal and NT Governments commenced in 2015 and was the first in Australia where a broader range of shortage occupations was available than those identified in standard skilled migration programs.

DAMA II is a five year agreement between the two jurisdictions.

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Australian DAMA Visa - TSS 482 to 186 visa PR - Age English Salary + Occupations - DAMA NT SA VIC

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UK Recruitment Industry Reacts To Queen’s Speech

Proposed Legislation includes a new employment bill, a points-based immigration system for skilled workers, flexible working and a national skills fund

During the State Opening of Parliament in December, the Queen outlined a comprehensive list of the new government’s proposed legislation including a new employment bill, a points-based immigration system for skilled workers, flexible working and a national skills fund.

The proposed employment bill promises to protect and enhance workers’ rights when the UK leaves the EU. The government is also set to create a new single enforcement body to protect workers’ rights. Workers would also have the right to request a more stable contract. Flexible working would also be default, unless employers have a good reason not to allow this (this is subject to consultation).

The recruitment industry has reacted to the announcement.

Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, said, “We hope the government’s employment bill will incentivise business compliance and increase fairness and flexibility in work. Two way flexibility, that supports businesses and workers’ choices, is vital to a fair and productive labour market. The challenge ahead is to ensure that this works for all parties.”

“The government’s recognition of the importance of all people being able to retrain is welcome,” Hadley continued. “Recruitment professionals are in a unique position to facilitate career transitions and progression, and to provide the latest insight into how skills needs are evolving. We look forward to ensuring that the National Skills Fund works for employers and workers alike.”

Tania Bowers, General Counsel at The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), also commented, “While it was confirmed that measures will be brought forward to encourage gig workers to request a “more predictable contract”, our members are keen to understand whether this right will be extended to non-permanent  agency workers, who by their nature are flexible.”

“We welcome the introduction of a National Skills Fund. However, while a commitment to ‘growing our own’ talent will help to mitigate against talent gaps in the future, in the interim access to skilled professionals from Europe and beyond must be maintained,” Bowers said.

“While today’s speech underlined a commitment to a ‘modern, fair, points-based immigration system’, Tier 2 Visas will continue to require a job offer. APSCo maintains that there must be a dedicated visa route as part of the future skills-based immigration system, through which highly skilled contractors from overseas can come to the UK and support British businesses. The abolition of the previous cap on numbers under the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visas coupled with a new fast-track immigration scheme for top scientists and researchers, however, should help alleviate skills shortages in some of the most talent-short sectors,” Bowers continued.

Bowers also called for a rethink to incoming changes related to IR35, and added that APSCo believes it should be delayed ‘pending a further impact review and completion of an assessment on employment status.’

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October 2019 Queen's Speech and State Opening of Parliament

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BLOG SERIES – WORKING IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) – PART 5

How to get an Emirates ID & Sponsorship?

This is necessary to complete your visa application process. It is basically a digital national identification system that is required for most transactions in the UAE. It is linked to your passport and visa – it is part of a national centralized system.

Once this done, you just have to wait till your employer completes the process, has the residence visa affixed on your original passport. This can take anywhere from five days to a month, depends on your employer.  Once you have a visa, you can bring in your family dependent upon the required criteria being met.

Once you are done with your visa process, how can you get your family to the UAE?

Expatriate residents, can sponsor their families in the UAE provided they have a valid residency permit.  Male residents who are employed in the UAE can sponsor their immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions, which include minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation.  Since March 2019, the type of profession is no longer a condition for an expatriate worker to be able to sponsor his family visas.

Male residents who are employed in the UAE can sponsor their immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions, which include minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation. Now, an expatriate can bring over his family members to the UAE and sponsor their residence visas regardless of his profession, as long as he maintains the ‘income criteria’ or the minimum wage requirement, which is a minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation

Male residents who are employed in the UAE can sponsor their immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions, which include minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation. Now, an expatriate can bring over his family members to the UAE and sponsor their residence visas regardless of his profession, as long as he maintains the ‘income criteria’ or the minimum wage requirement, which is a minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation.

Further, if the father of the family is residing in the UAE and meets the conditions for sponsoring his children, the mother is not allowed to sponsor them.  A resident sponsor has 60 days to apply for his dependents’ residence visa after they enter the UAE and modify their status from an entry permit holder to a resident visa holder.  Family members are issued visas for one or two years depending on the nature of the work and employment contract of the sponsoring member.

Sponsored residents except adult males who are continuing their education and sponsored parents can enjoy the same visa duration as their sponsors. For adult males and parents, the residence visa is granted on a yearly basis regardless of the sponsor’s visa duration.

An expatriate resident may sponsor the residence visa for his wife and children if he fulfils the sponsorship requirements set by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).  To sponsor his wife, the expatriate resident must prove an existing marital relationship by submitting an authenticated marriage certificate in Arabic or duly translated into Arabic by a certified translator.

In strict cases, a Muslim resident may be allowed to sponsor his two wives, if he meets certain terms and conditions set by the respective GDRFA.

An expatriate resident can sponsor his daughter/s only if she/they is/are unmarried, till the age of 18 years in case of a male child. Since October 21, 2018, students who graduate from their universities or secondary schools or complete 18 years of age will be granted a one-year residence visa, renewable for another year from the graduation date or on completing 18 years.  For this type of visa, parents are not required to place bank deposits. The visa will cost AED100 for first time issuing and renewal.  To avail of this service, parents must present duly attested graduation certificates from universities or schools, whether inside the country or abroad.

Important note: An expatriate resident can also sponsor his stepchildren, subject to GDRFA’s conditions, which include a deposit for each child and a written no-objection certificate from the biological parent. Their residence visas are valid for one year; renewable annually.

Required documents to sponsor your wife and children include:

  • Online application or through a registered typing office
  • Passport copies of the wife and children
  • Photos of the wife and children
  • Medical clearance certificate for the wife and children above 18
  • Copy of the husband’s employment contract or company contract
  • Salary certificate from the employer stating the employee’s monthly salary
  • Attested marriage certificate
  • Registered tenancy contract
  • Latest utility bill

How can you sponsor your parents?

An expatriate employee can sponsor his parents, which is for a year, by paying a deposit as a guarantee for each parent as stipulated by the respective immigration department. This is refundable.  An expatriate employee cannot sponsor only one of his parents. He needs to sponsor both parents together. He also needs to provide proof that he is their sole support and that there is no one to take care of them back home.  If one of the parents has passed away or if the parents are divorced, he has to show the related official documents as justification to sponsor only one of his parents

To sponsor parents, the employed expatriate resident must earn the minimum salary stipulated and obtain a medical insurance policy for parents with the minimum coverage stipulated for each, to be renewed each year. For example: GDFRA in Dubai stipulates a minimum salary of AED 20,000 or a monthly pay of AED 19,000 plus a two-bedroom accommodation to sponsor parents’ visa.

How can a woman sponsor her family?

In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating that she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any other profession related to the medical sector and if her monthly salary is not less than AED 10,000 or AED 8,000 plus accommodation. She needs to provide additional documents as stipulated by the respective authority.

In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in one of these categories, she may still get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than AED 10,000 and with a special permission from the GDFRA.  A single mother can sponsor her child. The authorities might ask for documents similar to those required to sponsor stepchildren.

What happens to your family’s visa/s if you quit or lose your job?

The family’s residence permits are linked to the residence permit of the sponsoring expatriate employee. If the sponsoring family member’s visa is cancelled, it requires cancellation of the visas of the dependents.  Dependents are granted a 30-day grace period from the date of expiry or cancellation of their visa to obtain a new residence permit.  If the employee fails to renew or cancel the visa of his dependents, the dependents would be deemed illegal residents and could be liable to pay a fine.

A great toll free number for MoHRE to have: 800-60

Issuing of ID Card for the First Time

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Why Australia Is The Next Place To Expand Your Business

Australia's Dynamic Industries

The Australian Government welcomes foreign investment. As the Australian Government’s investment promotion agency, Austrade works to inform investors about growth opportunities in five areas which play to our strengths, jointly agreed by Australian and State and Territory Governments:

  • Agribusiness and food
  • Major infrastructure
  • Tourism infrastructure
  • Resources and energy
  • Advanced manufacturing, services and technology

Within advanced manufacturing, services and technology, Austrade focuses on highlighting growth opportunities for investment in Australian medical and materials sciences and technologies, and digital technologies.

Australia has achieved significant global success in the energy and resources, agribusiness, education, tourism and financial services industries.

The country is also developing and commercialising new disruptive technologies in a range of sectors, including agriculture, education, financial services and healthcare.

Australia is renowned for its resources sector, upon which Asia continues to rely to help fuel its industrialisation. Australian agricultural commodities and premium food are in high demand worldwide, as are its tourism, education, wealth management, healthcare and professional services.

Australia is:

  • the world’s largest producer of gold, iron ore and uranium
  • a major global producer of agricultural commodities
  • a leader in investment management, with the sixth largest pool of funds under management in the world
  • the world’s third most popular destination for students
  • the seventh largest international tourism market.

GLOBALLY SUCCESSFUL IN FIVE KEY INDUSTRIES

Australia is a major producer of in-demand agricultural commodities, premium food and natural resources. The nation is a leading destination for international tourists and students in tertiary education. It also has large, expanding, sophisticated financial markets, including the world’s sixth largest pool of managed fund assets.

A LEADER IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Australia’s transition to a services-based economy is driving the development of new technologies in agriculture, education, financial services and health, among other sectors. This includes the use of blockchain in finance, immersive simulation technologies in education, robotics in medical procedures and the Internet of Things in agriculture.

ABUNDANT RESERVES OF MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES

Australia’s natural resources continue to be a vital contributor to the nation’s wealth. It has the world’s largest resources of iron ore, gold, lead, zinc, nickel, rutile and zircon, as well as the second largest bauxite, cobalt, silver and copper reserves. Australia also has the world’s largest uranium reserves and the second largest brown coal deposits, enabling it to play an important role in supplying the world’s energy needs.

Why Australia is the next place to expand your business

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Australia Holds World Record For Longest Period Of Growth Among Developed Economies

Austrade estimates that Australia holds the record for the longest period of recession-free growth for a developed economy

According to the latest National Accounts figures recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia holds the record for the longest period of recession-free growth for a developed economy.

The latest outcome is a positive sign that Australia’s economy is maintaining the solid momentum and has entered its 28th year of uninterrupted annual economic growth.

Australia is the only country in the developed world with a period of uninterrupted economic growth of this length, based on the typically recognised definition of an economic recession being a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters.

All 34 member countries in the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD) have experienced at least one period of two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth since 1991. Many of these economies experienced two episodes of negative growth during that period – one in 2001 following the collapse of the ‘dot.com bubble’, and one during the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC).

The period since 1991 is the longest growth phase Australia has recorded for at least the past 50 years. It has seen the economy register an average growth rate of 3.2% per annum.

The next longest period, during which Australia’s economic year-ended growth remained positive was between 1961 and 1971. In the 1970s and 1980s, Australia’s growth phases lasted only seven or eight years before another recession hit.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis national accounts figures represented the 104th positive growth rate since the economy started to recover in Q3 1991, following the two consecutive negative growth rates in Q1 and Q2 1991.

By Austrade’s count, Australia’s consecutive quarters of positive growth have now exceeded all OECD member countries including the Netherlands (96 quarters between Q1 1982 to Q2 2008), Ireland (78 between Q3 1986 and Q1 2007), South Korea (77 since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998) and Canada (68 between Q2 1991 and Q3 2008).

Australia’s economic resilience over the past two decades has been the envy of many countries. Australia sailed through the Asian economic crisis of 1997–98, prospered through the US stock market bust and recession of 2001 and continued to grow through the GFC of 2008–09.

Australia has managed to deliver a solid economic performance relative to other developed economies, while adjusting to the end of its mining boom of the 2000s.

The nation is expected to realise an average annual real GDP growth of 2.7% between 2019 and 2023, according to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook October 2018. The latest average growth rate over the next five years is the highest among major advanced economies and up from an average growth rate of 2.6% between 2014 and 2018.

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Australia's GDP growth is 'unmatched by any other developed nation'

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The World Health Organisation Has Designated 2020 As The “Year of the Nurse”

The “Year of the Nurse” will highlight the potential—and the problems—awaiting future Nightingales

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION has designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse”, marking 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, who established the principles of modern nursing and hospital sanitation. If she were to drop in on a hospital today, Nightingale would be pleased to see the progress in nursing since her day—and how it is poised to change in the years to come.

Nightingale founded the first nursing school, at a hospital in London in 1860, and wrote some 200 books and papers. She was the first woman admitted to the Royal Statistical Society, for her pioneering work in statistical infographics. While tending to British soldiers in the Crimean war, she made the case for hospital sanitation using a variation of the pie chart, entitled “Diagram of the Causes of Mortality in the Army in the East”, to show that more soldiers died from infections than from injuries. She drew up the chart to “affect through the Eyes what we may fail to convey to the brains of the public through their word-proof ears”. In what became known as a Coxcomb diagram, each slice of the pie has the same angular width and an area representing the amount in a given category (such as number of dead men).

Many, if not most, people today think of nursing as a narrow set of skills learned on the ward, much like it was back in Nightingale’s time. In fact, nurses have university degrees and there are doctorate-level studies in nursing. Like doctors, nurses specialise in myriad clinical disciplines, such as neonatology, cardiology and Accident & Emergency. There are even forensic nurses. Such is the pace of innovation in nursing that some issues of American Nurse Today, a monthly journal, run north of 70 pages.

In 2020 and beyond nurses will be doing a growing number of tasks conventionally reserved for doctors, both in acute and chronic care. Already, nearly two-thirds of anaesthetics given to patients in America are administered by certified nurse anaesthetists. In Britain specialised nurses now perform some types of abdominal, orthopaedic and cardiac surgery. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa nurses are being trained to do emergency caesarean sections, with results comparable to those achieved by doctors.

The changing face of nursing

Nurses will be increasingly tapped to replace general practitioners in treating patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions that require lifestyle changes. Nurses are particularly well placed to provide this kind of holistic care, which takes into account each person’s life circumstances, because they have long been patients’ confidants. In the words of Brian Dolan, an academic, “people look up to a doctor, but they look a nurse in the eye.” In surveys about trust in people from various professions, nurses invariably come top.

What would disappoint Nightingale in her time-travel to the present is that the transformation of nursing has been uneven. In countries as varied as India, Germany and Portugal nurses are still largely treated as doctors’ minions and may not even diagnose common ailments or prescribe medication. And although nurses make up nearly half of the world’s health-care workforce—and 90% of patients’ contacts with health workers—they are often not at the table when health-policy decisions are made. Even the World Health Organisation did not have a chief nursing officer until 2018.

The other trend that would make Nightingale furrow her brow is that nursing has lost its lustre, so most posts are hard to fill. In many countries no profession has a higher number of vacancies. In the next decade the shortage of nurses will remain the biggest problem that national health systems all over the world will face. By 2030 the world will be short of 7.6m nurses, which is a third of their number today.

To turn this tide, efforts to draw more people into nursing and keep trained nurses from leaving the profession will accelerate. Countries will focus more on recruiting nurses locally, rather than luring them from abroad—often from poor places where health care is already crippled by nurse shortages. National media campaigns will aim to raise the profile of nursing by dispelling outdated views about what the job entails. Some may borrow ideas from Singapore’s highly effective campaign, which has commissioned nursing dramas, documentaries and even a “nursing anthem” (in the form of a catchy pop-music video). The campaign’s Instagram account has something for everyone, including love stories of couples who met in nursing school.

Prodded by a global campaign which began in 2018, more hospitals and other employers will set up professional-development and leadership programmes for nurses. There will be more talk—and, it is hoped, action too—about how to enable nurses to work at the top of their licence and abilities. Technology will be roped in to make their work more manageable and reduce burnout. Algorithms, for example, will be used to map the optimal routes for ward shifts.

At the same time, as diagnostic systems and surgical robots advance, nursing may be the only aspect of the health-care profession in which machines will not replace human beings. Even though nursing is shaped by medical science and technology, as it has been since Nightingale’s time, its healing powers remain rooted in empathy and a human touch.

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Let's celebrate 2020 Year of the Nurse & Midwife – together

HOW TO CELEBRATE YEAR OF 2020 AS -“YEAR OF THE NURSES AND MIDWIFE” ? World Health Organization (WHO)

2020 Year Of The Nurses And Midwife-World Health Organization#200 Birth Anniversary of Nightingale

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Australia Relaxes English Requirement For Migrant Farm Workers & Offers Pathway To Permanent Residency

Great Opportunities For Migrant Farm Workers In Australia

Australian horticulture farmers will be able to sponsor overseas workers to work in their farms from next year with the Australian government relaxing English language requirements and offering a pathway to permanent residency to skilled and semi-skilled foreign workers.

Around Australia farmers grappling with difficulties in hiring and retaining farm workers, have been demanding a standalone Agriculture visa. While the Federal Government isn’t amenable to the idea, it has introduced a few measures, including allowing farmers to sponsor overseas workers.

The government has announced special labour agreements with the horticulture industry that will allow farmers to hire skilled and low-skilled migrant workers where Australian workers aren’t available.

The arrangement commencing on January 1, 2020 offers the workers concessions in the English language requirements and minimum salary that a sponsoring employer is required to pay them.

“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 and grow local economies,” Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said.

Horticulture employers will be able to apply to the Department of Home Affairs to sponsor migrant workers to come to Australia to work in one of the 31 approved occupations under the new arrangement.

Agriculture Minister Senator McKenzie said the arrangement will address the desperate need for workers in rural and regional Australia.

“This is about recognising that horticulture is a developed industry and requires a skilled workforce to continue to grow,” Ms McKenzie said.

We are working with a number of regional areas to assist in filling their skills gaps so Contact us for a confidential discussion and refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.

Come Live Our Philausophy

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