Australia Wants Thai Workers To Work In Its Construction Industry

[softgeorge]

I have had Thai Tradies working for our business in Sydney and they range from utterly hopeless (only a few) to excellent. To say that Thai workers are no good shows that you have yet to find the good ones and they do exist. The biggest problem is that most of them don't do apprenticeships or proper training/education in the Trades in Thailand and they will reflect the quality of who employed them and their quality of work .

So when these Tradies go back to Thailand they will have certianly picked up extra skills including OH&S and transport this back to Thailand . A plus for Thailand.

So if most thais do not do a trade apprenticeship how do they get thier trade certificates. To perform any sort of trade construction work in Australia you must be qualified and registered. How are the Thais going to perform the work if they are not registered or is Australia just going to take thier word for it. I can just see the Electrical inspector saying, "This wiring has not been earthed and Somchai saying it's ok Mister don't need, I save you money. Then by coincidence the inspector commits suicide by bludgering himself to death with a shovel because he caused Somchai to lose face.

[edwinclapham]

To be electrically trained in Australia you have to go through the motions for each particular state.

Trained electricians from the UK cannot rock up in Australia without first taking the exams, so a large majority of them work as trade assistants until they qualify

It seems highly immoral that DIAC are accepting thousands of applications from the UK for tradies which of course involves a huge sum of money per applicant and of course no employment is guaranteed on arrival. Win win situation for Australia!

Encouragement is given for the larger companies not to train up Australians for the work force which in my opinion is criminal.

We are going down the same path as our European cousins!

Personally I would never accept a 457 visa particularly as a married person you are very much at the mercy of the "unscrupulous"

[samran]

Does this mean that Thailand will return the favour and allow Aussies to freely work in Thailand without the strict visa requirements ie 90 day thing which is like reporting on bail to authorities. Is it a you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours agreement or is it a one way street. How is this going to reduce the unemployment rate in Australia which is the responsibilty of the government to create jobs for Australians.

With the unemployment rate in the Northern Terroritory at around 50% how is this going to help them? Would those 20,000 positions be used more wisely by reducing the current unemployment rate instead of raising taxes to cover the burden of welfare payments.

Thailand allows Australians to come on working holiday visa's and via the TAFTA there are provisions for streamlined work permit proceedures, and less onerous paths to work permit facilitation.

[chooka]

To be electrically trained in Australia you have to go through the motions for each particular state.

Trained electricians from the UK cannot rock up in Australia without first taking the exams, so a large majority of them work as trade assistants until they qualify

It seems highly immoral that DIAC are accepting thousands of applications from the UK for tradies which of course involves a huge sum of money per applicant and of course no employment is guaranteed on arrival. Win win situation for Australia!

Encouragement is given for the larger companies not to train up Australians for the work force which in my opinion is criminal.

We are going down the same path as our European cousins!

Personally I would never accept a 457 visa particularly as a married person you are very much at the mercy of the "unscrupulous"

So I guess this would apply to Thai tradesmen as well. They would have to requalify as a tradesperson in Australia and sit what I would presume to be more stringent examinations than they would in Thailand. Thier knowledge of english would also have to be of a reasonably high standard to do the exams. I couldn't really see to many Thais applying if this was the case as it would be a slap in the face for them as they probably think they are already of a higher standard.

[chooka]

Does this mean that Thailand will return the favour and allow Aussies to freely work in Thailand without the strict visa requirements ie 90 day thing which is like reporting on bail to authorities. Is it a you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours agreement or is it a one way street. How is this going to reduce the unemployment rate in Australia which is the responsibilty of the government to create jobs for Australians.

With the unemployment rate in the Northern Terroritory at around 50% how is this going to help them? Would those 20,000 positions be used more wisely by reducing the current unemployment rate instead of raising taxes to cover the burden of welfare payments.

Thailand allows Australians to come on working holiday visa's and via the TAFTA there are provisions for streamlined work permit proceedures, and less onerous paths to work permit facilitation.

I think the TAFTA (free trade agreement) is only for corporations and the like and not for individuals (expats) working. I doubt very very much if Thailand would import a lot of Aussies to come over and work thus excluding Thais from the positions. I doubt if Thailand would ever be as generous as Australia is being to Thais. It would be nice if the 20,000 aussies that missed out on the positions given to thais were invited over by the Thai government to work in Thailand as a thankyou, but this definately would never happen.

[oldsailor35]

On a serioous note, the Aussies must be desperate, there are NO standards in this country. Thousands will die in Australia from collapsing buildings, bad electrical installation etc.

The amount of racism and hatred on this forum is staggering. You would think think a forum about Thailand, based IN Thailand, would bring together people who either live here or appreciate what Thailand has to offer.

Instead it's a forum full of haters.

Mostly bitter, old men, I presume.

I am an old man and definately not bitter, however having worked for many years in the Australian construction and building industry, i look at Thai building practices and finished products and shake my head ! Just about none of these buildings would ever pass inspection in Australia. Where i live , the owners are building a new bungalow which i am going to move into, they are so proud of it. But the door hanging is a bloody disgrace with gaps all around anything from 10 mil to zero ( doors jamming the frame) when i was working, we would need to be able to just place a 20 cent piece evenly all around the door otherwise it was rejected. This standard appears to be unheard of here. And another thing, an electrician in oz just does not learn his trade by watching over the shoulder of his boss or mate, he has to go to college, 4 years learning, how does a thai electrician learn ?

[oldsailor35]

We had a Thai carpenter do some work for us his standard of work was as good if not better than some chippys in uk also his site safety was pretty good, he usually works as a carpenter on film sets in bkk maybe that is where he learnt safety.

I also remember there was a international construction skills competition held in London last year the Thais won the tiling comp again there tiling skills are way above the average uk tiler.

i have 25 years experience in uk construction

Good trades are available here but they cost we paid 500 a day for the chippy and i believe that was neighbours rates.

And are almost as rare as hens teeth !

[necronx99]

I have been trying all week to get an entrance door hung. Simple door, painted, lock put in.

About 20 calls, half no answer, 3 appointments where they haven't shown up. Others are too busy, one guy would hang it for a reasonable price but doesn't "do" paint...

One guy quoted $2200.00, I shit you not! Two thousand dollars to put a freakin door in!

Let me all in I say, Australia needs more Somchais.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[chooka]

On a serioous note, the Aussies must be desperate, there are NO standards in this country. Thousands will die in Australia from collapsing buildings, bad electrical installation etc.

The amount of racism and hatred on this forum is staggering. You would think think a forum about Thailand, based IN Thailand, would bring together people who either live here or appreciate what Thailand has to offer.

Instead it's a forum full of haters.

Mostly bitter, old men, I presume.

I am an old man and definately not bitter, however having worked for many years in the Australian construction and building industry, i look at Thai building practices and finished products and shake my head ! Just about none of these buildings would ever pass inspection in Australia. Where i live , the owners are building a new bungalow which i am going to move into, they are so proud of it. But the door hanging is a bloody disgrace with gaps all around anything from 10 mil to zero ( doors jamming the frame) when i was working, we would need to be able to just place a 20 cent piece evenly all around the door otherwise it was rejected. This standard appears to be unheard of here. And another thing, an electrician in oz just does not learn his trade by watching over the shoulder of his boss or mate, he has to go to college, 4 years learning, how does a thai electrician learn ?

from what I have seen a Thai sparkie hasn't learnt to even put a power socket onto the end of the wires. All the tradesmen I have seen in Thailand simply plug the two wires into the powerpoint on the wall. Try doing that in Australia.

[edwinclapham]

@ Chooka..

Any electrician for say WA must be a holder of an A grade Electricians Licence. These licences are in the main transferable interstate.

I would imagine it would be very difficult to obtain this licence without knowledge of the English language.

Without posting the link, you can find the requirements on "Seek"

" I couldn't really see to many Thais applying if this was the case as it would be a slap in the face for them as they probably think they are already of a higher standard."

Most poms feel it is a slap in the face when they are unable to work before obtaining their A grade to enable them to work in Australia. My brother went through this and it was around about a year before he qualified. Rules are rules I guess.

Edited May 8, 2012 by edwinclapham

[Nignoy]

Be interesting to see what the unions in Australia say about this.

What can the unions say!! plenty of building work here on the darling downs,60,000 men under the age of 45 on the dole, but most of them not interested in work of any type, the gasfields here are screaming out for workers , great pay, but the agencies are having to bring in workers from england ,ireland and germany,

Well contact Centrelink and tell them to put the bludgers back to work. I notice from some of your post that your always complaining about Centrelink. Do something about it.

you think centrelink dont know!! do you know anyone who is happy with centrelink?? try dobbing some one in to centrelink , no confidentiality , no trust or support, but did end up with our invalid cars and house trashed though

[ThaiGuy69]

I am a Thai man from Bangkok who is looking forward to working in the construction industry in the Gold Coast area. I will

definitely be applying for one of these 20,000 new positions. I will be going to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok to apply for

one of these positions.

I spent a year studying in Australia when I was at school, and since then I have visited Australia several times on vacation and to

visit and stay with some girlfriends who live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Australia is by far my favourite country in the

whole world! I simply love this country.....even more than I love my own country of Thailand. I love the wide open spaces, the

unique animals and plants, but best of all I love the Australian people, particularly the gorgeous Aussie girls.

Actually, I intend to use my employment position on the Gold Coast as a springboard to emigrating to Australia, and becoming a

permanent Australian resident, and eventually a citizen of Australia. I hope I will find a beautiful Australian lady to be my wife!

Wish me chok dee.

The one really odd and puzzling thing about Australia is that, although it is an enormous country, the 6th largest in the world, only

23 million people live there. And yet, less than 200 kilometres off the north coast of Australia begin the first islands of South East

Asia, where 620 million people live. And not much further away is China, with 1340 million people. Particularly odd and puzzling is

that, in the whole of Northern Australia, from Broome to Cairns, there lives less than 1 million people. And yet the climate is ideal

for growing rice: the city of Darwin has 173 centimetres of rain per year, compared to 150 centimetres in Bangkok.

I would like to share two quotations from one of my favourite political leaders, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was the Prime

Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. These are actual quotes of what he said when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia:

"Possibly with more Asians settling in Australia - maybe the proportion might be 70 per cent Asian, 30 per cent people of

Caucasian origin - perhaps that's when there will be no problem at all."

"When Europeans were rich, you Australians were Europeans. Then you became Americans when America was rich. When Asians

get rich, you become Asians."

My favourite Aussie musician of all time is Jimmy Barnes, he is a true Aussie legend, possibly the most legendary Aussie legend

there is. Interestingly, his wife is Thai, and his kids are half Thai, and Jimmy himself speaks Thai. Jimmy Barnes has publicly stated

that he has converted to Buddhism, he considers himself to be a Thai Buddhist.

His most famous song, and one of the most famous and well-loved Aussie songs of all time, is "Khe Sanh", which is essentially a

song about an Australian man who is taking a plane from Sydney to South-East Asia, where he hopes to find love and romance. It

contains the memorable line..."the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone". It is a song that is enormously popular with the

Australian people, it resonates deeply in the Australian psyche. It is a song about loneliness, bittersweet memories, and mixed and

torn emotions, but it is also a song about hope, redemption, and human fulfillment, a song about a man who is leaving an alienated

and lonely existence behind, and transforming his soul into another spiritual dimension.

[kerryk]

I am a Thai man from Bangkok who is looking forward to working in the construction industry in the Gold Coast area. I will

definitely be applying for one of these 20,000 new positions. I will be going to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok to apply for

one of these positions.

I spent a year studying in Australia when I was at school, and since then I have visited Australia several times on vacation and to

visit and stay with some girlfriends who live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Australia is by far my favourite country in the

whole world! I simply love this country.....even more than I love my own country of Thailand. I love the wide open spaces, the

unique animals and plants, but best of all I love the Australian people, particularly the gorgeous Aussie girls.

Actually, I intend to use my employment position on the Gold Coast as a springboard to emigrating to Australia, and becoming a

permanent Australian resident, and eventually a citizen of Australia. I hope I will find a beautiful Australian lady to be my wife!

Wish me chok dee.

The one really odd and puzzling thing about Australia is that, although it is an enormous country, the 6th largest in the world, only

23 million people live there. And yet, less than 200 kilometres off the north coast of Australia begin the first islands of South East

Asia, where 620 million people live. And not much further away is China, with 1340 million people. Particularly odd and puzzling is

that, in the whole of Northern Australia, from Broome to Cairns, there lives less than 1 million people. And yet the climate is ideal

for growing rice: the city of Darwin has 173 centimetres of rain per year, compared to 150 centimetres in Bangkok.

I would like to share two quotations from one of my favourite political leaders, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was the Prime

Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. These are actual quotes of what he said when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia:

"Possibly with more Asians settling in Australia - maybe the proportion might be 70 per cent Asian, 30 per cent people of

Caucasian origin - perhaps that's when there will be no problem at all."

"When Europeans were rich, you Australians were Europeans. Then you became Americans when America was rich. When Asians

get rich, you become Asians."

My favourite Aussie musician of all time is Jimmy Barnes, he is a true Aussie legend, possibly the most legendary Aussie legend

there is. Interestingly, his wife is Thai, and his kids are half Thai, and Jimmy himself speaks Thai. Jimmy Barnes has publicly stated

that he has converted to Buddhism, he considers himself to be a Thai Buddhist.

His most famous song, and one of the most famous and well-loved Aussie songs of all time, is "Khe Sanh", which is essentially a

song about an Australian man who is taking a plane from Sydney to South-East Asia, where he hopes to find love and romance. It

contains the memorable line..."the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone". It is a song that is enormously popular with the

Australian people, it resonates deeply in the Australian psyche. It is a song about loneliness, bittersweet memories, and mixed and

torn emotions, but it is also a song about hope, redemption, and human fulfillment, a song about a man who is leaving an alienated

and lonely existence behind, and transforming his soul into another spiritual dimension.

Isn't that a Vietnam war song? As in the battle of Khe Sanh?

[Jessi]

I have had Thai Tradies working for our business in Sydney and they range from utterly hopeless (only a few) to excellent. To say that Thai workers are no good shows that you have yet to find the good ones and they do exist. The biggest problem is that most of them don't do apprenticeships or proper training/education in the Trades in Thailand and they will reflect the quality of who employed them and their quality of work .

So when these Tradies go back to Thailand they will have certianly picked up extra skills including OH&S and transport this back to Thailand . A plus for Thailand.

So if most thais do not do a trade apprenticeship how do they get thier trade certificates. To perform any sort of trade construction work in Australia you must be qualified and registered. How are the Thais going to perform the work if they are not registered or is Australia just going to take thier word for it. I can just see the Electrical inspector saying, "This wiring has not been earthed and Somchai saying it's ok Mister don't need, I save you money. Then by coincidence the inspector commits suicide by bludgering himself to death with a shovel because he caused Somchai to lose face.

Love it George....poor old somchai

[samsiam]

Thaiguy...make sure you aim your sights higher when you choose an Aussie girl....most western girls with thai guys you could possibly say are aesthetically challenged.

As for rice in Darwin...they tried that once and the magpie geese ate it all.

[edwinclapham]

Thaiguy...make sure you aim your sights higher when you choose an Aussie girl....most western girls with thai guys you could possibly say are aesthetically challenged.

As for rice in Darwin...they tried that once and the magpie geese ate it all.

I have also seen many aesthetically challenged farang men with Thai girls.

[Jessi]

I am a Thai man from Bangkok who is looking forward to working in the construction industry in the Gold Coast area. I will

definitely be applying for one of these 20,000 new positions. I will be going to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok to apply for

one of these positions.

I spent a year studying in Australia when I was at school, and since then I have visited Australia several times on vacation and to

visit and stay with some girlfriends who live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Australia is by far my favourite country in the

whole world! I simply love this country.....even more than I love my own country of Thailand. I love the wide open spaces, the

unique animals and plants, but best of all I love the Australian people, particularly the gorgeous Aussie girls.

Actually, I intend to use my employment position on the Gold Coast as a springboard to emigrating to Australia, and becoming a

permanent Australian resident, and eventually a citizen of Australia. I hope I will find a beautiful Australian lady to be my wife!

Wish me chok dee.

The one really odd and puzzling thing about Australia is that, although it is an enormous country, the 6th largest in the world, only

23 million people live there. And yet, less than 200 kilometres off the north coast of Australia begin the first islands of South East

Asia, where 620 million people live. And not much further away is China, with 1340 million people. Particularly odd and puzzling is

that, in the whole of Northern Australia, from Broome to Cairns, there lives less than 1 million people. And yet the climate is ideal

for growing rice: the city of Darwin has 173 centimetres of rain per year, compared to 150 centimetres in Bangkok.

I would like to share two quotations from one of my favourite political leaders, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was the Prime

Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. These are actual quotes of what he said when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia:

"Possibly with more Asians settling in Australia - maybe the proportion might be 70 per cent Asian, 30 per cent people of

Caucasian origin - perhaps that's when there will be no problem at all."

"When Europeans were rich, you Australians were Europeans. Then you became Americans when America was rich. When Asians

get rich, you become Asians."

My favourite Aussie musician of all time is Jimmy Barnes, he is a true Aussie legend, possibly the most legendary Aussie legend

there is. Interestingly, his wife is Thai, and his kids are half Thai, and Jimmy himself speaks Thai. Jimmy Barnes has publicly stated

that he has converted to Buddhism, he considers himself to be a Thai Buddhist.

His most famous song, and one of the most famous and well-loved Aussie songs of all time, is "Khe Sanh", which is essentially a

song about an Australian man who is taking a plane from Sydney to South-East Asia, where he hopes to find love and romance. It

contains the memorable line..."the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone". It is a song that is enormously popular with the

Australian people, it resonates deeply in the Australian psyche. It is a song about loneliness, bittersweet memories, and mixed and

torn emotions, but it is also a song about hope, redemption, and human fulfillment, a song about a man who is leaving an alienated

and lonely existence behind, and transforming his soul into another spiritual dimension.

I think your trying to take the P**S I have never met a Thai who thinks any country is better than Thailand

[edwinclapham]

I am a Thai man from Bangkok who is looking forward to working in the construction industry in the Gold Coast area. I will

definitely be applying for one of these 20,000 new positions. I will be going to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok to apply for

one of these positions.

I spent a year studying in Australia when I was at school, and since then I have visited Australia several times on vacation and to

visit and stay with some girlfriends who live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Australia is by far my favourite country in the

whole world! I simply love this country.....even more than I love my own country of Thailand. I love the wide open spaces, the

unique animals and plants, but best of all I love the Australian people, particularly the gorgeous Aussie girls.

Actually, I intend to use my employment position on the Gold Coast as a springboard to emigrating to Australia, and becoming a

permanent Australian resident, and eventually a citizen of Australia. I hope I will find a beautiful Australian lady to be my wife!

Wish me chok dee.

The one really odd and puzzling thing about Australia is that, although it is an enormous country, the 6th largest in the world, only

23 million people live there. And yet, less than 200 kilometres off the north coast of Australia begin the first islands of South East

Asia, where 620 million people live. And not much further away is China, with 1340 million people. Particularly odd and puzzling is

that, in the whole of Northern Australia, from Broome to Cairns, there lives less than 1 million people. And yet the climate is ideal

for growing rice: the city of Darwin has 173 centimetres of rain per year, compared to 150 centimetres in Bangkok.

I would like to share two quotations from one of my favourite political leaders, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was the Prime

Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. These are actual quotes of what he said when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia:

"Possibly with more Asians settling in Australia - maybe the proportion might be 70 per cent Asian, 30 per cent people of

Caucasian origin - perhaps that's when there will be no problem at all."

"When Europeans were rich, you Australians were Europeans. Then you became Americans when America was rich. When Asians

get rich, you become Asians."

My favourite Aussie musician of all time is Jimmy Barnes, he is a true Aussie legend, possibly the most legendary Aussie legend

there is. Interestingly, his wife is Thai, and his kids are half Thai, and Jimmy himself speaks Thai. Jimmy Barnes has publicly stated

that he has converted to Buddhism, he considers himself to be a Thai Buddhist.

His most famous song, and one of the most famous and well-loved Aussie songs of all time, is "Khe Sanh", which is essentially a

song about an Australian man who is taking a plane from Sydney to South-East Asia, where he hopes to find love and romance. It

contains the memorable line..."the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone". It is a song that is enormously popular with the

Australian people, it resonates deeply in the Australian psyche. It is a song about loneliness, bittersweet memories, and mixed and

torn emotions, but it is also a song about hope, redemption, and human fulfillment, a song about a man who is leaving an alienated

and lonely existence behind, and transforming his soul into another spiritual dimension.

I think your trying to take the P**S I have never met a Thai who thinks any country is better than Thailand

Defo a wind up!

[softgeorge]

I am a Thai man from Bangkok who is looking forward to working in the construction industry in the Gold Coast area. I will

definitely be applying for one of these 20,000 new positions. I will be going to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok to apply for

one of these positions.

I spent a year studying in Australia when I was at school, and since then I have visited Australia several times on vacation and to

visit and stay with some girlfriends who live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Australia is by far my favourite country in the

whole world! I simply love this country.....even more than I love my own country of Thailand. I love the wide open spaces, the

unique animals and plants, but best of all I love the Australian people, particularly the gorgeous Aussie girls.

Actually, I intend to use my employment position on the Gold Coast as a springboard to emigrating to Australia, and becoming a

permanent Australian resident, and eventually a citizen of Australia. I hope I will find a beautiful Australian lady to be my wife!

Wish me chok dee.

The one really odd and puzzling thing about Australia is that, although it is an enormous country, the 6th largest in the world, only

23 million people live there. And yet, less than 200 kilometres off the north coast of Australia begin the first islands of South East

Asia, where 620 million people live. And not much further away is China, with 1340 million people. Particularly odd and puzzling is

that, in the whole of Northern Australia, from Broome to Cairns, there lives less than 1 million people. And yet the climate is ideal

for growing rice: the city of Darwin has 173 centimetres of rain per year, compared to 150 centimetres in Bangkok.

I would like to share two quotations from one of my favourite political leaders, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was the Prime

Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. These are actual quotes of what he said when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia:

"Possibly with more Asians settling in Australia - maybe the proportion might be 70 per cent Asian, 30 per cent people of

Caucasian origin - perhaps that's when there will be no problem at all."

"When Europeans were rich, you Australians were Europeans. Then you became Americans when America was rich. When Asians

get rich, you become Asians."

My favourite Aussie musician of all time is Jimmy Barnes, he is a true Aussie legend, possibly the most legendary Aussie legend

there is. Interestingly, his wife is Thai, and his kids are half Thai, and Jimmy himself speaks Thai. Jimmy Barnes has publicly stated

that he has converted to Buddhism, he considers himself to be a Thai Buddhist.

His most famous song, and one of the most famous and well-loved Aussie songs of all time, is "Khe Sanh", which is essentially a

song about an Australian man who is taking a plane from Sydney to South-East Asia, where he hopes to find love and romance. It

contains the memorable line..."the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone". It is a song that is enormously popular with the

Australian people, it resonates deeply in the Australian psyche. It is a song about loneliness, bittersweet memories, and mixed and

torn emotions, but it is also a song about hope, redemption, and human fulfillment, a song about a man who is leaving an alienated

and lonely existence behind, and transforming his soul into another spiritual dimension.

Isn't that a Vietnam war song? As in the battle of Khe Sanh?

I am with you on this one Kerryk.

left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh

And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the black market man

I've had the Vietnam cold turkey

From the ocean to the Silver City

And it's only other vets could understand

It is about an Australian Vietnam veteren dealing with his return to civilian life. Barnsy actually served in vietnam forward scout and had his share of action. (huge fan) Off topic but I had to agree with you on something

[chooka]

This article was published in Natural Gas Daily, 10th April 2012.

A deal announced a few weeks ago to make it easier for skilled US workers to fill jobs in Australia will help the country quell a looming labour shortage, which is expected to peak as construction on a number of LNG projects on both coasts gets underway this year.

Overall, Australia’s resources sector is facing a shortage of around 36, 000 skilled workers by 2015, particularly in Western Australia (WA) and Queensland, where most of the LNG projects are located, according to the governments National Resources Sector Employment taskforce. The gas sector specifically is expected to see between 1, 800 and 3,200 additional jobs open up by then, the taskforce said.

“The hunger we have is driven by the resources sector – construction and mining, LNG development or associated infrastructure. There’s a huge appetite and, quite frankly, we need a solid immigration system as a platform,” Lincoln Crawley, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand, told Interfax.

“The acceleration is massive, so there’s just no way the domestic supply of talent is going to fulfil that demand.”

For this reason, Australia’s agreement with the United States represents a significant step for the Australian labour market, he added. The two countries shook hands last week on a measure that will give American workers in licensed occupations access to the equivalent Australian permits as soon as they land in the country. This cuts out months of waiting while workers are assessed for licences to work in Australia.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe this is the same sort of agreement that Australia has struck with Thailand. If Somchai the electrician takes up the offer he stands to make $140K AUD per year (3.5 Mil Baht) he would make more in a month than he would make in 5 yrs working in Thailand.

Whilst the Australian State and Federal Governments are aware of the current and looming shortages in the Skilled workforce they are making dramatic cuts to TAFE (Technical & Further Education) funding. The TAFE's are the very intitutions that train the skilled workforce and from where they obtain the accreditations to perform the work.

On May 1, the Victorian state government budget introduced cutbacks that will destroy TAFE as a comprehensive service accessible to all Victorians.

These cuts don't just trim a bit, requiring the sector to pull in its belt. TAFE had to do that in October last year when the government cut $40 million of funding for vocational education. The budget cuts just announced will be in the order of $290 million next year. The scale and magnitude of these cuts threaten TAFE's viability and will lead to campus closures and possibly the closure of some institutes. The long term effect will be the serious depletion of the skilled workforce. Equipment and infrastructure will deteriorate. Courses will close, communities will lose a crucial public resource, and industries will lose the institutions they rely on to develop skills of new and existing workers and improve productivity.

This is just one State.

I really do not understand the logic of the government, the money that they save by not training the workforce for Australia's future will be eaten up by welfare payments to those who can't find employment due to the lack of skills and qualifications. The jobs that they could have been trained for and actually be doing will be taken by those recruited from abroad. Maybe the government thinks that those recruited from outside will eventually make Australia thier home thus building up the skilled workforce without the cost of training. Will still have those Australians out of work living on welfare tho so it is a no win situation.

[dickyknee]

So there is a huge labour shortage in WA and Qld, and Vic is cutting TAFE Positions.

Apples and oranges.

[Time Traveller]

Maybe the Saudi's should advise the Aussie's on what it's like to have Thai workers in their country. They seem a little clueless

[softgeorge]

So there is a huge labour shortage in WA and Qld, and Vic is cutting TAFE Positions.

Apples and oranges.

Not really Victoria is part of Australia and these people that would be trained for Australia's future could fill the shortages in WA & QLD, in fact anywhere in Australia. Australians would be employed in Australia and no need to import labour. In 1901 the 6 separate British Colonies got together and formed one single Nation, the country we have today so hardly apples and oranges. When you apply for a job you are generally asked are you and Australian citizen or do you have the right to work in "Australia." Not are you a WA citizen (QLD,VIC whatever) and do you have the right to work in WA. Australia is one country and nothing like Nth/Sth Korea.

Edited May 10, 2012 by softgeorge

[necronx99]

So there is a huge labour shortage in WA and Qld, and Vic is cutting TAFE Positions.

Apples and oranges.

Not really Victoria is part of Australia and these people that would be trained for Australia's future could fill the shortages in WA & QLD, in fact anywhere in Australia. Australians would be employed in Australia and no need to import labour. In 1901 the 6 separate British Colonies got together and formed one single Nation, the country we have today so hardly apples and oranges.

Agree, it's irrelevant where you live or train. Once able you go where the money is.

[simple1]

So there is a huge labour shortage in WA and Qld, and Vic is cutting TAFE Positions.

Apples and oranges.

Not really Victoria is part of Australia and these people that would be trained for Australia's future could fill the shortages in WA & QLD, in fact anywhere in Australia. Australians would be employed in Australia and no need to import labour. In 1901 the 6 separate British Colonies got together and formed one single Nation, the country we have today so hardly apples and oranges. When you apply for a job you are generally asked are you and Australian citizen or do you have the right to work in "Australia." Not are you a WA citizen (QLD,VIC whatever) and do you have the right to work in WA. Australia is one country and nothing like Nth/Sth Korea.

Not correct, different states have seperate certificatiion requirements for trades people, at least from overseas. Friend of mine, electrian from South Africa applied for job in WA and they wouldn't recogise his trade certification, whereas QLD did so

[xthAi76s]

Wow, good luck to the Aussies having important infrastructure built by Thais. There are few things scarier. Saw another article recently about Aussies needing men and women in the armed forces, so they are actually trying to entice Americans and Europeans to come to OZ. Looks like they are really struggling.

[sparebox2]

What about their spouse?

I am sure there is a big market in the --- industry too.

[edwinclapham]

Wow, good luck to the Aussies having important infrastructure built by Thais. There are few things scarier. Saw another article recently about Aussies needing men and women in the armed forces, so they are actually trying to entice Americans and Europeans to come to OZ. Looks like they are really struggling.

British service personnel have been recruited to join Australian services for years. Nothing new in that!

[xthAi76s]

Wow, good luck to the Aussies having important infrastructure built by Thais. There are few things scarier. Saw another article recently about Aussies needing men and women in the armed forces, so they are actually trying to entice Americans and Europeans to come to OZ. Looks like they are really struggling.

British service personnel have been recruited to join Australian services for years. Nothing new in that!

I didn't know that. First time, though, for me to hear that Americans were being actively recruited.

[samran]

Wow, good luck to the Aussies having important infrastructure built by Thais. There are few things scarier. Saw another article recently about Aussies needing men and women in the armed forces, so they are actually trying to entice Americans and Europeans to come to OZ. Looks like they are really struggling.

I fail to see how a booming economy is 'struggling'...