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Feb 8, 2010
Australia shifts immigration
CANBERRA - AUSTRALIA will dump 20,000 low-skilled migrant applications to re-focus its immigration intake on high-skilled jobs critical to the economy and help meet growing Chinese resource demand, the government said on Monday. The move was welcomed by Australia's mining sector, where major firms like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have been expanding to meet China's growing demand for resources, but is struggling with a shortage of skilled workers.
But the switch will be a blow to the Australia's overseas student education sector, the country's third largest export earner worth US$13 billion (S$18.5 billion). The sector is reeling from bad-publicity over recent attacks on Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne. Many overseas students from Asia seek residency in Australia after completing vocational courses at private colleges, usually in low-skill careers such as hairdressing and catering.
Education experts have been calling on Australia to overhaul its foreign student sector after reports of fraud and that students were the system purely to gain residency in Australia. 'We had tens of thousands of students studying cookery and accounting and hairdressing because that was on the list and that got them through to permanent residency,' Immigration Minister Chris Evans told Australian radio on Monday.
'We want to make sure we're getting the high-end applicants.' Mr Evans said the immigration intake would focus on health workers, including more doctors and nurses, as well as engineering and mining. Mr Evans said Australia's government would abolish the current list of skills in demand, which contains 106 occupations, and review a points test used to assess migrants. -- REUTERS
Home > Breaking News > World > Story
Feb 8, 2010
Australia shifts immigration
CANBERRA - AUSTRALIA will dump 20,000 low-skilled migrant applications to re-focus its immigration intake on high-skilled jobs critical to the economy and help meet growing Chinese resource demand, the government said on Monday. The move was welcomed by Australia's mining sector, where major firms like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have been expanding to meet China's growing demand for resources, but is struggling with a shortage of skilled workers.
But the switch will be a blow to the Australia's overseas student education sector, the country's third largest export earner worth US$13 billion (S$18.5 billion). The sector is reeling from bad-publicity over recent attacks on Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne. Many overseas students from Asia seek residency in Australia after completing vocational courses at private colleges, usually in low-skill careers such as hairdressing and catering.
Education experts have been calling on Australia to overhaul its foreign student sector after reports of fraud and that students were the system purely to gain residency in Australia. 'We had tens of thousands of students studying cookery and accounting and hairdressing because that was on the list and that got them through to permanent residency,' Immigration Minister Chris Evans told Australian radio on Monday.
'We want to make sure we're getting the high-end applicants.' Mr Evans said the immigration intake would focus on health workers, including more doctors and nurses, as well as engineering and mining. Mr Evans said Australia's government would abolish the current list of skills in demand, which contains 106 occupations, and review a points test used to assess migrants. -- REUTERS
