| Australian migration is often one of the most common | | | | applicants who already have a standing job offer, as |
| things that many workers applying here think about. | | | | opposed to those who simply have the qualifications |
| And this is really not that surprising, as there are indeed | | | | and are yet to secure a job. He also added that their |
| many opportunities waiting for them here. However, in | | | | priority will shift into getting more high level workers, |
| recent years, various changes in immigration policies | | | | such as health professionals ad engineers. According |
| seems to have made these opportunities harder to | | | | to him, this will ensure that they will be able to meet the |
| reach. | | | | demands of the major industries in the country. |
| One of the major overhauls done in the last two years | | | | Another particular point the the Immigration department |
| concerns the skilled migrant workers program. | | | | wants to revise is skills assessment. They are planning |
| According to Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris | | | | to implement stricter rules in order to filter only those |
| Evans, the biggest problems that they have faced in | | | | applicants that has the highest degrees of skills. One of |
| recent years was an imbalance of the number of | | | | the skills that they will give large priority on is English |
| incoming workers to that needed by the country. He | | | | language proficiency. Thus, they are planning to put in |
| cited the number of lower level skilled migrants over | | | | new changes into the language exams required for |
| that of the higher ones as an example. | | | | granting a working visa. |
| "We are taking in more hairdressers than doctors and | | | | A new list of of jobs deemed in demand will also be |
| nurses," he said in an interview with the Associated | | | | published by the Immigration department. This will |
| Press earlier this month. He argued that the problem | | | | encompass those jobs that are low in supply as well |
| came about due to the changes made about by the | | | | as those that have been newly prioritized. On the |
| previous administration. He also added that this was | | | | other hand, foreign students will now also find it a little |
| done in order to attract more foreign workers to the | | | | harder to secure permanent residency, as they are |
| country. However, he added that the over | | | | given only 18 months to find a job in the field they |
| representation of the demand for some of the lower | | | | graduated from, or they will be forced to move back |
| level positions have lead to the unbalanced distribution | | | | to their home countries. |
| of the foreign labor force. | | | | According to observers, these moves will likely |
| Under the new system that Evans have laid down, a | | | | decrease the number of immigrant workers coming in. |
| much stricter selection process will be used in choosing | | | | But government officials are sure that this will only be |
| the applicants to be granted working visas. Now, | | | | temporary, until the changes have been fully adopted. |
| according to him, priority will be given to those | | | | |