Latest news with #EngineersAustralia
Sky News AU
10-08-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Education 'disaster' to blame for flagging productivity, as experts urge Albanese government to address skills crisis
Industry experts have blamed a "disaster" in Australia's education system for the nation's worsening skills crisis and flagging productivity. Ahead of the Albanese government's economic roundtable, Sky News Business Now hosted a panel of leaders across business and industry to offer insight into issues plaguing Australia's economy. Engineers Australia CEO, and former Infrastructure Australia boss, Romilly Madew told the Shadow Economic Roundtable the nation's productivity crisis had its roots in the education system and had been worsened by red tape affecting a key sector. When you look at engineering, for instance, we've plateaued the number of students studying engineering and 62 per cent of our engineers are now born overseas and if you look the whole economic performance and infrastructure pipeline, what do you need? You need engineers," she said. Ms Madew explained the shortage of engineers was exacerbated by a clumsy registration process, with each state and territory employing its own method. Engineers must be registered in each state and territory in which they wish to work. Responding to Ms Madew, former Business Council of Australia president and Transfield chair, Tony Shepherd argued Australia had failed to keep pace "with the rest of the world" when it came to education. "I think my colleague here is right, we really do need to lift the game in terms of our engineering and science and what have you," he said. "If you look at the results in mathematics in all of our school plans, disaster. "Australia has not kept pace with the rest of the world. They start with their education system (and) it goes right through to training." The latest NAPLAN test results showed one in three students across years three, five, seven, and nine were falling behind benchmarks in reading, spelling, writing, and numeracy. Education Minister Jason Clare said the results indicated there was "more work to do" to address standards and prevent children falling behind. Ms Madew agreed, arguing the government should raise investment and focus on encouraging more Australians to pursue careers in STEM fields. "When we look at the importance of maths and science and schools, there's an opportunity there," she said. "That's where the government should be leaning in to support a lift in productivity in engineering and STEM. "We're going to have an increase of 12 per cent requirement of STEM in the coming years, but where's the pipeline coming from?" The government has maintained addressing the skills crisis will form a key part of discussions during its economic roundtable. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also been keen to talk up previous investments in training, such as fee-free TAFE, in order to demonstrate a commitment to combatting shortages in skilled labour.
The Advertiser
06-08-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Engineering students launch class action lawsuit against University of Newcastle
IT was billed as the first of its kind in NSW, a new degree created by the University of Newcastle that would provide students with the skills and expertise to address the healthcare problems of the future. But students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree in 2018 and 2019 have launched a class action lawsuit against the university after they say they were "deceived and misled" into studying an unaccredited degree. The students say the revelation meant they had to undertake additional costly study in order to graduate with a recognised accredited degree, which delayed their entry into the workforce. As part of a statement of claim filed with the NSW Supreme Court, the students allege the university engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct" in promotional materials and on the course website by representing that the degree was accredited with Engineers Australia and qualified a graduate for employment in Australia and overseas without any further qualification. They say it wasn't until July, 2019, after some students had been studying for more than a year, that they discovered the degree lacked professional accreditation, prompting students to either switch courses or begin a combined degree. In its defence, the University of Newcastle does not deny the degree was not accredited between 2017 and 2019 (the degree only obtained provisional accreditation in 2023, which was backdated to 2020). But they dispute that any student suffered loss or damages as a result and say professional accreditation is not required for graduates to be eligible to practise as an engineer. The university denies keeping the accreditation status from students and claims that from about April, 2018, it had published that the degree was "seeking provisional accreditation through Engineers Australia". The class action members, led by Andreas Sklavos, are seeking compensation, damages and a declaration that the university engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached Australian Consumer Law. The revelation that the degree was not accredited came as a shock, they say, and the news was followed by a great deal of stress. "There was a feeling of uncertainty and confusion of how to proceed, how it would my affect my future career prospects and further a sense of frustration of potentially wasting years of time studying a degree with minimal value and the associated costs," Mr Sklavos told the Newcastle Herald. They say they lost income by not being able to immediately secure employment after completing the initial four-year degree and claim the accreditation issue, questions about their future employment and a failure from the university to offer any "financial or emotional support" caused them to suffer "disappointment, distress, inconvenience and anxiety". The class action was mentioned in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday when Justice Peter Garling ordered the proceedings be referred for mediation. Mr Sklavos was part of the first intake that studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) in 2018, but says he was blindsided in 2019 when the university revealed the degree did not have professional accreditation. "The degree was first advertised in 2017 for a semester 1 start in 2018 and at that point all evidence showed that the degree was accredited and recognised by both Engineers Australia and the Washington Accord, which are the two key bodies for both national and international course recognition to gain employment," Mr Sklavos said. "Someone mentioned having looked up the credentials of the degree and there was no evidence that the university had obtained accreditation. "They approached the university and the university disclosed it to everyone else. "That was when we had the conversations that the degree was not accredited and they were actually in the process of getting accreditation." He said he then began studying a combined degree with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering so that he could be ensured accreditation, but that turned a four-year degree into five years and meant he incurred an additional $8000 in HECS. Mr Sklavos said had he known the degree did not have accreditation he would never have enrolled and would have instead studied an accredited engineering degree either at UON or elsewhere and obtained employment sooner. In response to the university's claim that professional accreditation was not a requirement to practice as an engineer, Mr Sklavos said graduates entering the workforce with an unaccredited degree would likely struggle to find employment in the field of medical engineering competing against those with accredited degrees. Class actions involving disputes over university course accreditation remain extremely rare in Australia. But Mr Sklavos, who has since started working as a mechanical engineer, says he was encouraged to pursue a civil case against the university after hearing about a group of students from James Cook University who launched a class action lawsuit after discovering their Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Advising) degree was not accredited. In that case, the course has since been accredited and the university also offered affected students the opportunity to obtain further qualifications at its expense. It's believed there are more than 100 students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree during those first two years when it still remains unaccredited, but at the time the statement of claim was filed in February, only seven students had joined the class action. In a statement, the University of Newcastle acknowledged the proceedings and declined to comment. "As the matter is now before the court, it would be inappropriate for the university to comment in detail," the statement said. "However, the university has filed a defence and intends to respond to the claims through the proper legal channels." IT was billed as the first of its kind in NSW, a new degree created by the University of Newcastle that would provide students with the skills and expertise to address the healthcare problems of the future. But students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree in 2018 and 2019 have launched a class action lawsuit against the university after they say they were "deceived and misled" into studying an unaccredited degree. The students say the revelation meant they had to undertake additional costly study in order to graduate with a recognised accredited degree, which delayed their entry into the workforce. As part of a statement of claim filed with the NSW Supreme Court, the students allege the university engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct" in promotional materials and on the course website by representing that the degree was accredited with Engineers Australia and qualified a graduate for employment in Australia and overseas without any further qualification. They say it wasn't until July, 2019, after some students had been studying for more than a year, that they discovered the degree lacked professional accreditation, prompting students to either switch courses or begin a combined degree. In its defence, the University of Newcastle does not deny the degree was not accredited between 2017 and 2019 (the degree only obtained provisional accreditation in 2023, which was backdated to 2020). But they dispute that any student suffered loss or damages as a result and say professional accreditation is not required for graduates to be eligible to practise as an engineer. The university denies keeping the accreditation status from students and claims that from about April, 2018, it had published that the degree was "seeking provisional accreditation through Engineers Australia". The class action members, led by Andreas Sklavos, are seeking compensation, damages and a declaration that the university engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached Australian Consumer Law. The revelation that the degree was not accredited came as a shock, they say, and the news was followed by a great deal of stress. "There was a feeling of uncertainty and confusion of how to proceed, how it would my affect my future career prospects and further a sense of frustration of potentially wasting years of time studying a degree with minimal value and the associated costs," Mr Sklavos told the Newcastle Herald. They say they lost income by not being able to immediately secure employment after completing the initial four-year degree and claim the accreditation issue, questions about their future employment and a failure from the university to offer any "financial or emotional support" caused them to suffer "disappointment, distress, inconvenience and anxiety". The class action was mentioned in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday when Justice Peter Garling ordered the proceedings be referred for mediation. Mr Sklavos was part of the first intake that studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) in 2018, but says he was blindsided in 2019 when the university revealed the degree did not have professional accreditation. "The degree was first advertised in 2017 for a semester 1 start in 2018 and at that point all evidence showed that the degree was accredited and recognised by both Engineers Australia and the Washington Accord, which are the two key bodies for both national and international course recognition to gain employment," Mr Sklavos said. "Someone mentioned having looked up the credentials of the degree and there was no evidence that the university had obtained accreditation. "They approached the university and the university disclosed it to everyone else. "That was when we had the conversations that the degree was not accredited and they were actually in the process of getting accreditation." He said he then began studying a combined degree with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering so that he could be ensured accreditation, but that turned a four-year degree into five years and meant he incurred an additional $8000 in HECS. Mr Sklavos said had he known the degree did not have accreditation he would never have enrolled and would have instead studied an accredited engineering degree either at UON or elsewhere and obtained employment sooner. In response to the university's claim that professional accreditation was not a requirement to practice as an engineer, Mr Sklavos said graduates entering the workforce with an unaccredited degree would likely struggle to find employment in the field of medical engineering competing against those with accredited degrees. Class actions involving disputes over university course accreditation remain extremely rare in Australia. But Mr Sklavos, who has since started working as a mechanical engineer, says he was encouraged to pursue a civil case against the university after hearing about a group of students from James Cook University who launched a class action lawsuit after discovering their Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Advising) degree was not accredited. In that case, the course has since been accredited and the university also offered affected students the opportunity to obtain further qualifications at its expense. It's believed there are more than 100 students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree during those first two years when it still remains unaccredited, but at the time the statement of claim was filed in February, only seven students had joined the class action. In a statement, the University of Newcastle acknowledged the proceedings and declined to comment. "As the matter is now before the court, it would be inappropriate for the university to comment in detail," the statement said. "However, the university has filed a defence and intends to respond to the claims through the proper legal channels." IT was billed as the first of its kind in NSW, a new degree created by the University of Newcastle that would provide students with the skills and expertise to address the healthcare problems of the future. But students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree in 2018 and 2019 have launched a class action lawsuit against the university after they say they were "deceived and misled" into studying an unaccredited degree. The students say the revelation meant they had to undertake additional costly study in order to graduate with a recognised accredited degree, which delayed their entry into the workforce. As part of a statement of claim filed with the NSW Supreme Court, the students allege the university engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct" in promotional materials and on the course website by representing that the degree was accredited with Engineers Australia and qualified a graduate for employment in Australia and overseas without any further qualification. They say it wasn't until July, 2019, after some students had been studying for more than a year, that they discovered the degree lacked professional accreditation, prompting students to either switch courses or begin a combined degree. In its defence, the University of Newcastle does not deny the degree was not accredited between 2017 and 2019 (the degree only obtained provisional accreditation in 2023, which was backdated to 2020). But they dispute that any student suffered loss or damages as a result and say professional accreditation is not required for graduates to be eligible to practise as an engineer. The university denies keeping the accreditation status from students and claims that from about April, 2018, it had published that the degree was "seeking provisional accreditation through Engineers Australia". The class action members, led by Andreas Sklavos, are seeking compensation, damages and a declaration that the university engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached Australian Consumer Law. The revelation that the degree was not accredited came as a shock, they say, and the news was followed by a great deal of stress. "There was a feeling of uncertainty and confusion of how to proceed, how it would my affect my future career prospects and further a sense of frustration of potentially wasting years of time studying a degree with minimal value and the associated costs," Mr Sklavos told the Newcastle Herald. They say they lost income by not being able to immediately secure employment after completing the initial four-year degree and claim the accreditation issue, questions about their future employment and a failure from the university to offer any "financial or emotional support" caused them to suffer "disappointment, distress, inconvenience and anxiety". The class action was mentioned in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday when Justice Peter Garling ordered the proceedings be referred for mediation. Mr Sklavos was part of the first intake that studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) in 2018, but says he was blindsided in 2019 when the university revealed the degree did not have professional accreditation. "The degree was first advertised in 2017 for a semester 1 start in 2018 and at that point all evidence showed that the degree was accredited and recognised by both Engineers Australia and the Washington Accord, which are the two key bodies for both national and international course recognition to gain employment," Mr Sklavos said. "Someone mentioned having looked up the credentials of the degree and there was no evidence that the university had obtained accreditation. "They approached the university and the university disclosed it to everyone else. "That was when we had the conversations that the degree was not accredited and they were actually in the process of getting accreditation." He said he then began studying a combined degree with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering so that he could be ensured accreditation, but that turned a four-year degree into five years and meant he incurred an additional $8000 in HECS. Mr Sklavos said had he known the degree did not have accreditation he would never have enrolled and would have instead studied an accredited engineering degree either at UON or elsewhere and obtained employment sooner. In response to the university's claim that professional accreditation was not a requirement to practice as an engineer, Mr Sklavos said graduates entering the workforce with an unaccredited degree would likely struggle to find employment in the field of medical engineering competing against those with accredited degrees. Class actions involving disputes over university course accreditation remain extremely rare in Australia. But Mr Sklavos, who has since started working as a mechanical engineer, says he was encouraged to pursue a civil case against the university after hearing about a group of students from James Cook University who launched a class action lawsuit after discovering their Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Advising) degree was not accredited. In that case, the course has since been accredited and the university also offered affected students the opportunity to obtain further qualifications at its expense. It's believed there are more than 100 students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree during those first two years when it still remains unaccredited, but at the time the statement of claim was filed in February, only seven students had joined the class action. In a statement, the University of Newcastle acknowledged the proceedings and declined to comment. "As the matter is now before the court, it would be inappropriate for the university to comment in detail," the statement said. "However, the university has filed a defence and intends to respond to the claims through the proper legal channels." IT was billed as the first of its kind in NSW, a new degree created by the University of Newcastle that would provide students with the skills and expertise to address the healthcare problems of the future. But students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree in 2018 and 2019 have launched a class action lawsuit against the university after they say they were "deceived and misled" into studying an unaccredited degree. The students say the revelation meant they had to undertake additional costly study in order to graduate with a recognised accredited degree, which delayed their entry into the workforce. As part of a statement of claim filed with the NSW Supreme Court, the students allege the university engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct" in promotional materials and on the course website by representing that the degree was accredited with Engineers Australia and qualified a graduate for employment in Australia and overseas without any further qualification. They say it wasn't until July, 2019, after some students had been studying for more than a year, that they discovered the degree lacked professional accreditation, prompting students to either switch courses or begin a combined degree. In its defence, the University of Newcastle does not deny the degree was not accredited between 2017 and 2019 (the degree only obtained provisional accreditation in 2023, which was backdated to 2020). But they dispute that any student suffered loss or damages as a result and say professional accreditation is not required for graduates to be eligible to practise as an engineer. The university denies keeping the accreditation status from students and claims that from about April, 2018, it had published that the degree was "seeking provisional accreditation through Engineers Australia". The class action members, led by Andreas Sklavos, are seeking compensation, damages and a declaration that the university engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached Australian Consumer Law. The revelation that the degree was not accredited came as a shock, they say, and the news was followed by a great deal of stress. "There was a feeling of uncertainty and confusion of how to proceed, how it would my affect my future career prospects and further a sense of frustration of potentially wasting years of time studying a degree with minimal value and the associated costs," Mr Sklavos told the Newcastle Herald. They say they lost income by not being able to immediately secure employment after completing the initial four-year degree and claim the accreditation issue, questions about their future employment and a failure from the university to offer any "financial or emotional support" caused them to suffer "disappointment, distress, inconvenience and anxiety". The class action was mentioned in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday when Justice Peter Garling ordered the proceedings be referred for mediation. Mr Sklavos was part of the first intake that studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) in 2018, but says he was blindsided in 2019 when the university revealed the degree did not have professional accreditation. "The degree was first advertised in 2017 for a semester 1 start in 2018 and at that point all evidence showed that the degree was accredited and recognised by both Engineers Australia and the Washington Accord, which are the two key bodies for both national and international course recognition to gain employment," Mr Sklavos said. "Someone mentioned having looked up the credentials of the degree and there was no evidence that the university had obtained accreditation. "They approached the university and the university disclosed it to everyone else. "That was when we had the conversations that the degree was not accredited and they were actually in the process of getting accreditation." He said he then began studying a combined degree with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering so that he could be ensured accreditation, but that turned a four-year degree into five years and meant he incurred an additional $8000 in HECS. Mr Sklavos said had he known the degree did not have accreditation he would never have enrolled and would have instead studied an accredited engineering degree either at UON or elsewhere and obtained employment sooner. In response to the university's claim that professional accreditation was not a requirement to practice as an engineer, Mr Sklavos said graduates entering the workforce with an unaccredited degree would likely struggle to find employment in the field of medical engineering competing against those with accredited degrees. Class actions involving disputes over university course accreditation remain extremely rare in Australia. But Mr Sklavos, who has since started working as a mechanical engineer, says he was encouraged to pursue a civil case against the university after hearing about a group of students from James Cook University who launched a class action lawsuit after discovering their Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Advising) degree was not accredited. In that case, the course has since been accredited and the university also offered affected students the opportunity to obtain further qualifications at its expense. It's believed there are more than 100 students who studied the Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) degree during those first two years when it still remains unaccredited, but at the time the statement of claim was filed in February, only seven students had joined the class action. In a statement, the University of Newcastle acknowledged the proceedings and declined to comment. "As the matter is now before the court, it would be inappropriate for the university to comment in detail," the statement said. "However, the university has filed a defence and intends to respond to the claims through the proper legal channels."
The Advertiser
05-08-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
The solution to Australia's skills shortage hiding in plain sight
In Australia today, like the proverbial chameleon in the crowd, there is an issue and its solution hiding in plain sight. Migrants and refugees are struggling to get jobs that befit their skills and experience. At the same time, we have a critical skills shortage. Migrants and refugees face barriers, including a lack of local experience and networks, English language proficiency or pronunciation and a lack of familiarity with Australian workplace culture and the job market. There are also difficulties and barriers, including exorbitant costs, in getting overseas qualifications recognised in Australia. These structural barriers inhibit positive migrant and refugee career outcomes. Also, employers can be reticent or unsure about hiring migrants and refugees, and mainstream employment services often are either not accessible or unsuited to migrants and refugees. Easily available statistics and research paint a picture of the effect of this situation. Migrants from non-English-speaking countries suffer persistent wage gaps, and overseas-educated migrants earn less than similarly qualified Australians, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Poor English can affect employment, with 44 per cent of migrants and refugees working below their skill level, even though 57 per cent of them hold university qualifications. And strong accents or a lack of knowledge of local industry jargon exacerbates the problem. At the same time, we know there are critical workforce shortages across a plethora of sectors. The current shortfall of GPs in Australia will rise to 3900 in 2028 and to more than 8900 in 2028; and the undersupply of nurses will rise to almost 80,000 by 2035. Engineers Australia has reported that the nation's engineering skills and labour shortage are at their highest level in a decade. And Master Builders Australia says 130,000 extra tradies will be needed by 2029 to meet the growing demand for new housing. The Commonwealth government's Jobs and Skills Australia agency has estimated that 67 occupations covered by the Technicians and Trades Workers category are in chronic and long-term shortage, representing about one-third of all skills shortages across the country. These shortages are pushing up construction costs and are worse in rural and regional areas, many of which are vulnerable to natural disasters. The boom in renewable energy, data centres to support AI and major infrastructure projects as well as our aging populations and increased demand in care sectors mean these shortages are neither short term nor geographically limited. Making matters worse is global competition for skilled migrants, competition between states within Australia for workers with critical skills and the leakage of skilled workers from regional areas to the cities. But this situation is also an economic opportunity for Australia. Better harnessing the skills and experience of migrants would deliver economic dividends through addressing professional workforce shortages, boosting productivity and reducing the overall cost of creating the professional workforce we need. This is evidenced in some simple numbers. It costs Australia anywhere from $180,000 to $500,000 - including Commonwealth Place Supported funding - to produce a registered doctor. For overseas trained medicos, that figure is around $28,500 - and it could be lower with more streamlined qualifications recognition. Better utilising migrant and refugee skills would also deliver a social dividend through the better integration of newcomers into the community, thus bolstering social cohesion and further supporting disadvantaged cohorts of migrants and refugees. To do this, we need to address the three pillars of the problem: providing access to gap training and qualification recognition; preparing people for Australia's workplace culture and environment; and addressing employer attitudes and bias toward international skills. Practically, this provides a collective approach to reduce the cost and simplify the processes for requalification and qualification, with clearly communicated pathways. We need to support employers to be more confident about overseas-trained staff through incentives and programs to address discrimination. This includes our looking at our recruitment practices and critically assessing whether they are a barrier to accessing migrant talent. We need to support migrants and refugees with job readiness training initiatives, such as the Skilled Professional Migrant Program delivered by my organisation, AMES Australia. Recently, we commissioned an economist to run the numbers on the effect of a national rollout of the program, a scheme that has a proven record of supporting migrants and refugees into jobs commensurate with their skills and qualifications. The paper, produced by Dr Ian Pringle, found utilising the skills and experience migrants and refugees bring with them could benefit Australia's economy by as much as $10 billion over five years. It found that supporting new arrivals to re-establish their professional careers in Australia could generate more than $2.5 billion in extra tax receipts as well as an extra $8 billion in earnings circulating in the economy over five years. What's more is that the extra access to skills could also produce a 10 per cent spike in productivity. The skills gap is an issue that has evolved again and again over time. Historically, Australia's response has been a siloed approach when what we have is an economic problem that needs a systemic all-of-the-economy response. It's a problem that we have identified but failed to properly pin down and solve over decades. That's the reason why Australia needs a national and integrated initiative to harness the skills of migrants and refugees, while reaping the economic and social benefits that it would bring before that chameleon changes its colour and disappears into the crowd again. In Australia today, like the proverbial chameleon in the crowd, there is an issue and its solution hiding in plain sight. Migrants and refugees are struggling to get jobs that befit their skills and experience. At the same time, we have a critical skills shortage. Migrants and refugees face barriers, including a lack of local experience and networks, English language proficiency or pronunciation and a lack of familiarity with Australian workplace culture and the job market. There are also difficulties and barriers, including exorbitant costs, in getting overseas qualifications recognised in Australia. These structural barriers inhibit positive migrant and refugee career outcomes. Also, employers can be reticent or unsure about hiring migrants and refugees, and mainstream employment services often are either not accessible or unsuited to migrants and refugees. Easily available statistics and research paint a picture of the effect of this situation. Migrants from non-English-speaking countries suffer persistent wage gaps, and overseas-educated migrants earn less than similarly qualified Australians, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Poor English can affect employment, with 44 per cent of migrants and refugees working below their skill level, even though 57 per cent of them hold university qualifications. And strong accents or a lack of knowledge of local industry jargon exacerbates the problem. At the same time, we know there are critical workforce shortages across a plethora of sectors. The current shortfall of GPs in Australia will rise to 3900 in 2028 and to more than 8900 in 2028; and the undersupply of nurses will rise to almost 80,000 by 2035. Engineers Australia has reported that the nation's engineering skills and labour shortage are at their highest level in a decade. And Master Builders Australia says 130,000 extra tradies will be needed by 2029 to meet the growing demand for new housing. The Commonwealth government's Jobs and Skills Australia agency has estimated that 67 occupations covered by the Technicians and Trades Workers category are in chronic and long-term shortage, representing about one-third of all skills shortages across the country. These shortages are pushing up construction costs and are worse in rural and regional areas, many of which are vulnerable to natural disasters. The boom in renewable energy, data centres to support AI and major infrastructure projects as well as our aging populations and increased demand in care sectors mean these shortages are neither short term nor geographically limited. Making matters worse is global competition for skilled migrants, competition between states within Australia for workers with critical skills and the leakage of skilled workers from regional areas to the cities. But this situation is also an economic opportunity for Australia. Better harnessing the skills and experience of migrants would deliver economic dividends through addressing professional workforce shortages, boosting productivity and reducing the overall cost of creating the professional workforce we need. This is evidenced in some simple numbers. It costs Australia anywhere from $180,000 to $500,000 - including Commonwealth Place Supported funding - to produce a registered doctor. For overseas trained medicos, that figure is around $28,500 - and it could be lower with more streamlined qualifications recognition. Better utilising migrant and refugee skills would also deliver a social dividend through the better integration of newcomers into the community, thus bolstering social cohesion and further supporting disadvantaged cohorts of migrants and refugees. To do this, we need to address the three pillars of the problem: providing access to gap training and qualification recognition; preparing people for Australia's workplace culture and environment; and addressing employer attitudes and bias toward international skills. Practically, this provides a collective approach to reduce the cost and simplify the processes for requalification and qualification, with clearly communicated pathways. We need to support employers to be more confident about overseas-trained staff through incentives and programs to address discrimination. This includes our looking at our recruitment practices and critically assessing whether they are a barrier to accessing migrant talent. We need to support migrants and refugees with job readiness training initiatives, such as the Skilled Professional Migrant Program delivered by my organisation, AMES Australia. Recently, we commissioned an economist to run the numbers on the effect of a national rollout of the program, a scheme that has a proven record of supporting migrants and refugees into jobs commensurate with their skills and qualifications. The paper, produced by Dr Ian Pringle, found utilising the skills and experience migrants and refugees bring with them could benefit Australia's economy by as much as $10 billion over five years. It found that supporting new arrivals to re-establish their professional careers in Australia could generate more than $2.5 billion in extra tax receipts as well as an extra $8 billion in earnings circulating in the economy over five years. What's more is that the extra access to skills could also produce a 10 per cent spike in productivity. The skills gap is an issue that has evolved again and again over time. Historically, Australia's response has been a siloed approach when what we have is an economic problem that needs a systemic all-of-the-economy response. It's a problem that we have identified but failed to properly pin down and solve over decades. That's the reason why Australia needs a national and integrated initiative to harness the skills of migrants and refugees, while reaping the economic and social benefits that it would bring before that chameleon changes its colour and disappears into the crowd again. In Australia today, like the proverbial chameleon in the crowd, there is an issue and its solution hiding in plain sight. Migrants and refugees are struggling to get jobs that befit their skills and experience. At the same time, we have a critical skills shortage. Migrants and refugees face barriers, including a lack of local experience and networks, English language proficiency or pronunciation and a lack of familiarity with Australian workplace culture and the job market. There are also difficulties and barriers, including exorbitant costs, in getting overseas qualifications recognised in Australia. These structural barriers inhibit positive migrant and refugee career outcomes. Also, employers can be reticent or unsure about hiring migrants and refugees, and mainstream employment services often are either not accessible or unsuited to migrants and refugees. Easily available statistics and research paint a picture of the effect of this situation. Migrants from non-English-speaking countries suffer persistent wage gaps, and overseas-educated migrants earn less than similarly qualified Australians, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Poor English can affect employment, with 44 per cent of migrants and refugees working below their skill level, even though 57 per cent of them hold university qualifications. And strong accents or a lack of knowledge of local industry jargon exacerbates the problem. At the same time, we know there are critical workforce shortages across a plethora of sectors. The current shortfall of GPs in Australia will rise to 3900 in 2028 and to more than 8900 in 2028; and the undersupply of nurses will rise to almost 80,000 by 2035. Engineers Australia has reported that the nation's engineering skills and labour shortage are at their highest level in a decade. And Master Builders Australia says 130,000 extra tradies will be needed by 2029 to meet the growing demand for new housing. The Commonwealth government's Jobs and Skills Australia agency has estimated that 67 occupations covered by the Technicians and Trades Workers category are in chronic and long-term shortage, representing about one-third of all skills shortages across the country. These shortages are pushing up construction costs and are worse in rural and regional areas, many of which are vulnerable to natural disasters. The boom in renewable energy, data centres to support AI and major infrastructure projects as well as our aging populations and increased demand in care sectors mean these shortages are neither short term nor geographically limited. Making matters worse is global competition for skilled migrants, competition between states within Australia for workers with critical skills and the leakage of skilled workers from regional areas to the cities. But this situation is also an economic opportunity for Australia. Better harnessing the skills and experience of migrants would deliver economic dividends through addressing professional workforce shortages, boosting productivity and reducing the overall cost of creating the professional workforce we need. This is evidenced in some simple numbers. It costs Australia anywhere from $180,000 to $500,000 - including Commonwealth Place Supported funding - to produce a registered doctor. For overseas trained medicos, that figure is around $28,500 - and it could be lower with more streamlined qualifications recognition. Better utilising migrant and refugee skills would also deliver a social dividend through the better integration of newcomers into the community, thus bolstering social cohesion and further supporting disadvantaged cohorts of migrants and refugees. To do this, we need to address the three pillars of the problem: providing access to gap training and qualification recognition; preparing people for Australia's workplace culture and environment; and addressing employer attitudes and bias toward international skills. Practically, this provides a collective approach to reduce the cost and simplify the processes for requalification and qualification, with clearly communicated pathways. We need to support employers to be more confident about overseas-trained staff through incentives and programs to address discrimination. This includes our looking at our recruitment practices and critically assessing whether they are a barrier to accessing migrant talent. We need to support migrants and refugees with job readiness training initiatives, such as the Skilled Professional Migrant Program delivered by my organisation, AMES Australia. Recently, we commissioned an economist to run the numbers on the effect of a national rollout of the program, a scheme that has a proven record of supporting migrants and refugees into jobs commensurate with their skills and qualifications. The paper, produced by Dr Ian Pringle, found utilising the skills and experience migrants and refugees bring with them could benefit Australia's economy by as much as $10 billion over five years. It found that supporting new arrivals to re-establish their professional careers in Australia could generate more than $2.5 billion in extra tax receipts as well as an extra $8 billion in earnings circulating in the economy over five years. What's more is that the extra access to skills could also produce a 10 per cent spike in productivity. The skills gap is an issue that has evolved again and again over time. Historically, Australia's response has been a siloed approach when what we have is an economic problem that needs a systemic all-of-the-economy response. It's a problem that we have identified but failed to properly pin down and solve over decades. That's the reason why Australia needs a national and integrated initiative to harness the skills of migrants and refugees, while reaping the economic and social benefits that it would bring before that chameleon changes its colour and disappears into the crowd again. In Australia today, like the proverbial chameleon in the crowd, there is an issue and its solution hiding in plain sight. Migrants and refugees are struggling to get jobs that befit their skills and experience. At the same time, we have a critical skills shortage. Migrants and refugees face barriers, including a lack of local experience and networks, English language proficiency or pronunciation and a lack of familiarity with Australian workplace culture and the job market. There are also difficulties and barriers, including exorbitant costs, in getting overseas qualifications recognised in Australia. These structural barriers inhibit positive migrant and refugee career outcomes. Also, employers can be reticent or unsure about hiring migrants and refugees, and mainstream employment services often are either not accessible or unsuited to migrants and refugees. Easily available statistics and research paint a picture of the effect of this situation. Migrants from non-English-speaking countries suffer persistent wage gaps, and overseas-educated migrants earn less than similarly qualified Australians, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Poor English can affect employment, with 44 per cent of migrants and refugees working below their skill level, even though 57 per cent of them hold university qualifications. And strong accents or a lack of knowledge of local industry jargon exacerbates the problem. At the same time, we know there are critical workforce shortages across a plethora of sectors. The current shortfall of GPs in Australia will rise to 3900 in 2028 and to more than 8900 in 2028; and the undersupply of nurses will rise to almost 80,000 by 2035. Engineers Australia has reported that the nation's engineering skills and labour shortage are at their highest level in a decade. And Master Builders Australia says 130,000 extra tradies will be needed by 2029 to meet the growing demand for new housing. The Commonwealth government's Jobs and Skills Australia agency has estimated that 67 occupations covered by the Technicians and Trades Workers category are in chronic and long-term shortage, representing about one-third of all skills shortages across the country. These shortages are pushing up construction costs and are worse in rural and regional areas, many of which are vulnerable to natural disasters. The boom in renewable energy, data centres to support AI and major infrastructure projects as well as our aging populations and increased demand in care sectors mean these shortages are neither short term nor geographically limited. Making matters worse is global competition for skilled migrants, competition between states within Australia for workers with critical skills and the leakage of skilled workers from regional areas to the cities. But this situation is also an economic opportunity for Australia. Better harnessing the skills and experience of migrants would deliver economic dividends through addressing professional workforce shortages, boosting productivity and reducing the overall cost of creating the professional workforce we need. This is evidenced in some simple numbers. It costs Australia anywhere from $180,000 to $500,000 - including Commonwealth Place Supported funding - to produce a registered doctor. For overseas trained medicos, that figure is around $28,500 - and it could be lower with more streamlined qualifications recognition. Better utilising migrant and refugee skills would also deliver a social dividend through the better integration of newcomers into the community, thus bolstering social cohesion and further supporting disadvantaged cohorts of migrants and refugees. To do this, we need to address the three pillars of the problem: providing access to gap training and qualification recognition; preparing people for Australia's workplace culture and environment; and addressing employer attitudes and bias toward international skills. Practically, this provides a collective approach to reduce the cost and simplify the processes for requalification and qualification, with clearly communicated pathways. We need to support employers to be more confident about overseas-trained staff through incentives and programs to address discrimination. This includes our looking at our recruitment practices and critically assessing whether they are a barrier to accessing migrant talent. We need to support migrants and refugees with job readiness training initiatives, such as the Skilled Professional Migrant Program delivered by my organisation, AMES Australia. Recently, we commissioned an economist to run the numbers on the effect of a national rollout of the program, a scheme that has a proven record of supporting migrants and refugees into jobs commensurate with their skills and qualifications. The paper, produced by Dr Ian Pringle, found utilising the skills and experience migrants and refugees bring with them could benefit Australia's economy by as much as $10 billion over five years. It found that supporting new arrivals to re-establish their professional careers in Australia could generate more than $2.5 billion in extra tax receipts as well as an extra $8 billion in earnings circulating in the economy over five years. What's more is that the extra access to skills could also produce a 10 per cent spike in productivity. The skills gap is an issue that has evolved again and again over time. Historically, Australia's response has been a siloed approach when what we have is an economic problem that needs a systemic all-of-the-economy response. It's a problem that we have identified but failed to properly pin down and solve over decades. That's the reason why Australia needs a national and integrated initiative to harness the skills of migrants and refugees, while reaping the economic and social benefits that it would bring before that chameleon changes its colour and disappears into the crowd again.
