Deloitte Access Economics Skill shortages in the resources sector

Secondary Sources

1. Australian Industry Group

Report name:	Submission of Immigration Program Planning Levels 2011-12
Date:	5 January 2011
Author:	-
Publisher/Industry/Government affiliation:	Australian Industry Group (AIG)
Subcontractor involved:	-
Primary/Secondary research	Secondary
Key sectors	Overall Australian economy

The AIG's submission to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship contends that the current planning level for the 2010-11 Migration Program, set at 168,700 places, remains significantly below what is required to avoid pressure on Australia's capacity.

This view is based on evidence of re-emerging skill shortages which are set to intensify with the combination of an ageing population and labour demands influenced by the resources boom.

The submission supports a range of migration strategies with a focus on attracting migrants with relevant skills. Additionally, it suggests that the migration program be used to fill the demand for unskilled workers which is at an all-time high, particularly in WA mines.

Five key recommendations were made:

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  The planning for the 2011-12 immigration program needs to take fully into account the intensifying skill shortages forecast for the middle of this decade.
  
• 
  The immigration program planning levels should be at least set at 190,300, the same levels determined in 2008.
  
• 
  The Government should reduce the English language cut-off entry level to the independent skilled component of the program .from International English Language Testing System 6 (IELTS) to IELTS 5 and change the Scale to begin awarding 5 points at IELTS 6.
  
• 
  Consideration should be given to introducing a sliding scale for language requirements in the Points Test based on occupational language needs.
  
• 
  There should be no further tightening of eligibility under the 457 program.
  

The submission summarises findings by Skills Australia into the projected jobs growth in the next fifteen years, as well as reports by AIG and the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce. It advocates balanced migration to address many of the problems giving rise to skills shortages, including long training times for professionals and an ageing population.

2. Australian Industry Group / Deloitte

Report name:	Submission of Immigration Program Planning Levels 2011-12
Date:	5 January 2011
Author:	-
Publisher/Industry/Government affiliation:	Australian Industry Group (AIG)
Subcontractor involved:	-
Primary/Secondary research	Secondary
Key sectors	Overall Australian economy

The report presents the results of AIG's survey on business skilling intentions for 2009-10. The study aims to gain an understanding of the impact of global economic conditions in 2009 on company demand for skilled labour, the capacity of companies to engage in workforce skills development and the extent of skills shortages.

The manufacturing sector provided the highest number of participants (76.1 per cent of all. respondents) followed by services (13.4 per cent) and construction (8.5 per cent). Some 48 per cent of companies surveyed were small companies employing up to 25 people,

The most prominent categories of expected skills shortages are technicians and trades (reported by 28.1 per cent of companies) followed by engineers (15.3 per cent). Skills shortages for technicians and trades were particularly prevalent for medium sized entities while shortages for engineers were particularly high for large entities.

3. Australian National Engineering Taskforce

Report name:	Scoping Our Future: Addressing Australia’s Engineering Skills Shortage
Date:	October 2010
Author:	Alicia Pearce, Karinda Flavell & Natacha Dao-Cheng
Publisher/Industry/Government affiliation:	Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET)
Subcontractor involved:	-
Primary/Secondary research	Secondary
Key sectors	Engineering Skills

This report provides background to the work of ANET, a partnership directed to rebuilding, growing and maintaining Australia's professional engineering capacity.

The report states that professional engineers, engineering technologists and technicians have been in short supply in construction, road, rail, power generation, local government and other industries over a period of several decades. The report cites several surveys and other sources, such as government reviews, to provide the evidence for this claim.

ANET's December 2009 survey of more than 2000 engineering professionals showed that 60 per cent of respondents identified an engineering skills shortage in their work section. Also, 54 per cent of respondents identified a loss of capability in their workplace, which was identified by respondents as impacting on their ability to undertake core work. The survey also found that the single, largest obstacle to recruitment, retention and growth in engineering consultancies is the shortage of engineers. Recent evidence from ANET partner organisations and their members has shown that overall the downturn in engineering related industries has not proven to be long-term. Smaller organisations particularly are struggling to retain capacity as the economy picks up.

In addition, the AIG's 2010 National CEO survey identified a key shortage of engineers, with nearly 50 per cent of businesses giving the management of skills shortages high or top priority. Consult Australia's 2010 Skills Survey shows that three quarters of Australian engineering Consulting firms face critical skills shortages, with two-thirds of consulting firms facing shortages of civil engineers.

Engineering skills shortages are considered to be an issue of supply. Engineering skills shortages are not cyclical but chronic and systemic, and linked to identifiable, cross-sectoral supply-side issues. For example, there is an identified supply mismatch between the number and specialisations of engineering graduates produced by Australian Universities and the VET sector, and the identified needs of industry and the community. There are also concerns about the recruitment and retention of female engineers, an ageing workforce, and the sustainability of Australia's reliance on offshore recruitment and international students given that engineers are in short supply the world over.

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