{"id":78811,"date":"2025-08-19T01:58:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T01:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/78811\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T01:58:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T01:58:31","slug":"australia-needs-skills-not-uber-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/78811\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia needs skills, not Uber drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, Matt Bell of The Australian wrote an article<\/a> based on the Hays 2025 Skills Report, saying that Australia was experiencing a skills crisis, with businesses struggling to recruit staff with the necessary abilities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Similar views have been expressed throughout the lead-up to the federal government\u2019s productivity summit, even though Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) data shows<\/a> that there are an abundance of applicants per job, suggesting that concerns surrounding labour shortages are overblown.<\/p>\n

At the economy-wide level, there were 29.3 applications per vacancy, 9.4 qualified applicants per vacancy and 4 suitable applicants per vacancy:<\/p>\n

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\"Applicants<\/p>\n

As shown below<\/a> by Alex Joiner, chief economist from IFM Investors, Australia is awash with low-skilled workers, yet continues to experience a relatively severe shortage of high-skilled workers:<\/p>\n

\"Recruitment<\/p>\n

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Perhaps we shouldn\u2019t be surprised by this outcome given Joiner added the following chart showing that the overwhelming majority of net overseas migration has been unskilled:<\/p>\n

\"Net<\/p>\n

The Albanese government this month announced that it has raised the planning level for international students by 25,000 to 295,000 for 2026.<\/p>\n

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Labor also watered down the visa system by weakening English-language requirements.<\/p>\n

As a result, Australia\u2019s international student and temporary visa numbers\u2014which are already the highest in the advanced world relative to our population\u2014will inevitably increase.<\/p>\n

\"Temporary<\/p>\n

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The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) examined the most recent census and discovered that Australia\u2019s \u2018skilled\u2019 migrants are consistently underemployed and underpaid.<\/p>\n

\"Migrant<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent migrants earn significantly less than Australian-born workers, and this has worsened over time\u201d, CEDA senior economist Andrew Barker said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMany still work in jobs beneath their skill level, despite often having been selected precisely for the experience and knowledge they bring\u201d.<\/p>\n

The CEDA analysis also explained that Australia\u2019s migration system is contributing to the country\u2019s poor productivity growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabour productivity and wages are closely linked, indicating that migrant labour is not being used as productively as it could be\u201d, the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decade, migrants have become increasingly likely to work in lower productivity firms\u201d.<\/p>\n

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According to Adelaide University\u2019s George Tan<\/a>, 43% of skilled migrants who entered via the state-sponsored visa system did not work in the occupation they claimed.<\/p>\n

The majority of skilled migrants were overqualified for positions in retail, hospitality, and service management.<\/p>\n

\"Underemployed<\/p>\n

Deloitte Access Economics found that<\/a> 44% (621,000) of permanent migrants in Australia worked in jobs below their skill level in 2023. The majority of these underemployed migrants came through the skilled stream.<\/p>\n

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On average, among those permanent migrants who arrived in Australia in the last 15 years, almost half (44%) are working in an occupation at a lower-skill level than is commensurate with their qualifications (Chart 1).<\/p>\n

This means in 2024, there are more than 621,000 permanent migrants living in Australia who are underutilised and not working to their full potential.<\/p>\n

\"Migrant<\/p>\n

According to the federal government\u2019s 2023 Migration Review, 51% of foreign-born university graduates with bachelor\u2019s degrees worked in unskilled employment three years after graduation.<\/p>\n

\"International<\/p>\n

Source: Migration Review, 2023.<\/p>\n

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The Graduate Outcome Survey has consistently found that international graduates earn significantly less than locally born graduates and have poorer labour market outcomes.<\/p>\n

\"Graduate<\/p>\n

What additional proof is required to demonstrate that Australia\u2019s \u2018skilled\u2019 migration system is failing to produce the desired results?<\/p>\n

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Mass immigration has failed to deliver the necessary skills, worsening infrastructure and housing shortages, as well as environmental deterioration.<\/p>\n

\u2018Capital Shallowing\u2019 has harmed Australia\u2019s productivity by reducing the amount of capital investment per person.<\/p>\n

Australians have effectively had the worst of both worlds\u2014recessionary levels of business investment that have been diluted by strong population growth via immigration.<\/p>\n

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The optimal solution is to operate a smaller, higher-skilled, and higher-income migration system.<\/p>\n

The wage floor for all skilled visas should be set significantly higher than the existing median full-time salary of roughly $90,000. All skilled visas should be employer-sponsored, with qualified migrants required to begin working in their field of competence immediately.<\/p>\n

All retirement visas, including parental and \u2018golden\u2019 tickets, should be cancelled.<\/p>\n

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Entry standards and financial requirements for other temporary visas, such as student visas, should be dramatically tightened to focus on quality over quantity. And only top-of-class international students should receive graduate visas.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the Albanese government has taken the opposite approach, lifting the intake of international students by 25,000 and watering down English-language proficiency rules.<\/p>\n

As a result, the quality of Australia\u2019s migration system will degrade further, skills shortages will persist, and productivity growth and living standards will continue to deteriorate.<\/p>\n

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