4 days ago
Australia has engineers driving Uber – migrants' skills and qualifications need to be recognised now
It's time to reduce barriers so more qualified Australians who started their careers and education overseas can fill skill shortages crippling the economy. Making overseas skills and qualifications recognition faster, fairer and more affordable would enable more people to fully use their skills, unlocking immediate productivity gains. We can realise this productivity boost right now – no need to wait years for trickle-down effects from new infrastructure or large investments.
Our campaign, Activate Australia's Skills, has laid out four practical solutions to fix the skills recognition system.
First, we need a national governance system for skills recognition, with an ombudsman to make it fair and transparent. There is currently no single body responsible for ensuring the system works as it is intended.
Second, we must bridge the gap between our migration and employment recognition systems. It makes no sense that someone deemed skilled enough to migrate here to work in a specific profession is then blocked from working in that field due to disconnected recognition and licensing systems.
Third, we need to reduce cost and information barriers. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars for migrants to have their overseas-acquired skills and qualifications recognised here. And that's if you're actually able to navigate the complex system of 77 assessing authorities across 650 occupations. We need more financial support and clear, centralised information for applicants.
Finally, we must establish career gateways – local employment hubs with navigators – to help migrants get recognised. These hubs would be located in areas with high migrant populations. Unlike other services focused on unemployment, the hubs would address underemployment, supporting people working below their skill level to get into their professions again.
There are more than 620,000 permanent migrants in Australia unable to work to their full qualification level. Two-thirds of these workers came through Australia's skilled migration program, meaning we specifically selected them for their valuable skills. Instead, we've got engineers driving Ubers while those very professions face critical shortages.
Getting these workers back into their fields would benefit migrants themselves, along with the 90% of leaders who report that their businesses are experiencing skills shortages. It would also benefit everyday Australians by easing shortages such as the 10,000 childcare workers needed or 200 GP clinics that close every year.
There is also an economic incentive to the tune of $9bn additional GPD per year over the next 10 years if we better harnessed the skills of migrants already here.
The main concern people raise when they hear about reforming skills recognition is what it means for Australia's high standards. These reforms are not about lower standards. We're talking about addressing barriers that are unrelated to people's skills: unfair assessments, excessive fees and unaccountable licensing bodies that create unnecessary obstacles.
This will not reduce the quality of professional practice. In fact, making the system more efficient and transparent will help uphold standards.
What sets these productivity reforms apart is that they're ready to go. They don't require years of negotiation or billions in spending. They require leadership, coordination and a commitment to fairness, but would deliver benefits quicker than just about any solution on the table.
The government has called for bold ideas to boost productivity. This is one of them. It's simple, fair and already backed by more than 100 organisations across business, unions and civil society. It's time to activate Australia's skills for the benefit of all.
Other countries have already shown the way. Countries such as Canada, Germany, Sweden, and the UK have implemented similar reforms and are now reaping the productivity benefits from fairer and faster skills recognition.
Violet Roumeliotis is the CEO of Settlement Services International, an organisation supporting people from diverse backgrounds to reach their potential in Australia
