The new government is likely to increase the numbers of workers coming to New Zealand on seasonal work schemes. But the impact on Pacific economies and communities is now too great to be ignored.
We’ll need to almost double our electricity sector workforce to build renewables as quickly as we need to. Where will the workers come from amid a skills shortage and infrastructure boom?
To overcome serious shortages of workers, both highly skilled and low-skilled, the government will need to look to migration. But fostering home-grown skills is a better and more enduring solution.
The construction sector has long suffered from lack of co-ordination, poor planning and vulnerability to shocks. If the country’s building and infrastructure needs are to be met, that has to change.
Federal Labor is promising to cover the cost of 465,000 TAFE places, including 45,000 new places. But there’s a chronic shortage of VET teachers and trainers, so that problem has to be fixed first.
Having international students in Australia gives us a head start in the global race to attract skilled migrants. COVID border closures that halved their numbers could have very long-term costs.
Some in government and industry aim to fill Australia’s skills shortages with migration policies. But VET numbers are up, suggesting many Australians are re-skilling. We could encourage more of this.
Mark Shrime, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
India, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa lose thousands of trained doctors each year, lured away to work in richer countries – at great cost to their nation’s healthcare systems.
As Australia’s fastest growing economic sector, tourism is long overdue for a level of government investment which matches its contribution to economic growth and employment.
Modern vocational programmes must prepare students for complex work which demands a skills and knowledge mix that is different but not necessarily easier than school subjects.