In order to apply for a 457 visa, an employer must nominate and sponsor you to work in the country. The application can only be successful if your skill area is listed on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List.
Currently, the 457 visa program is being used ineffectively. Employers are choosing to ignore their obligation to test the Australian labour-market for appropriately skilled people prior to hiring foreigners. This has contributed to a temporary worker crisis in Australia, where capable Australian workers are being left jobless in favour of foreign labourers. This issue has prompted a review of the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List, in the hope that it might force employers to consider their own local workers before looking overseas.
One method that has been suggested to increase the practicality of the CSO list is to take skills and job shortages into account during its reconstruction. Currently the list contains occupations like nursing, teaching and engineering, which are at a shortage in the job market. The review could aim to limit list inclusions to those occupations which have a skills shortage in the Australian workforce and where related positions tend to demand to be filled quicker than a new worker could possibly be trained .
The Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration must improve the program to allow maximum benefit to the Australian economy and labour force. How they do this is a topic of contention.
Whilst Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney has suggested that occupations with a job shortage in the Australian market be omitted from the list; Jenny Lambert , Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has stated that the list should not be shorted, since it needs to retain the ability to cater to both business and regional needs. She said the list should be responsive, taking account of locations and industries with the highest uptakes of 457s rather than being based on shortages.
Lambert has claimed that a well-constructed migration program should serve to generate jobs rather than place limitations on job-seeking Australians.
If you are hoping to migrate to Australia, we can help you to organise your application to ensure it appeals to Immigration Officials and offers you the best chance of success. We at Visa Solutions Australia are proud to call ourselves migration experts; we are up-to-date with all the latest relevant information to your application and have the experience to guide you with ease.
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