Immigration Minister warns Australia could fall behind on skilled migrants | Anthony Galloway
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has warned that Australia is at risk of losing skilled migrants to other countries such as Canada if it doesn’t overhaul the migration program, as the federal government prepares to lift its cap by tens of thousands to fill chronic labour shortages.
Giles stopped short of confirming whether the government would raise the migration cap but said it would form a “really important part” ofHe said Australia needed to be paying close attention to what other countries were doing and “recognising that for some skills, there is global demand”.“By and large, we are looking at other comparable nations - [Canada] have been quite aggressive in what is a global race for talent,” Giles said.
“They want a migration program that meets the needs of our economy today, that meets the needs of Australians and their families, and that sets us up for a future that’s more prosperous and more connected,” he said. Giles also said Australia needed to do a lot more to get migrants that were already here working and into the right jobs which would include better recognising prior qualifications and training.
He said that new community-sponsored places for refugees, which have already started as a pilot program, will be in addition to the annual humanitarian intake.