Call for Canberra to encourage more people to plug labour shortage
Australia needs to relax its immigration rules to encourage more people to move to the country and help plug a severe labour shortage, as well as improve workplace diversity, top executives told a business forum.
Pounder pointed out that half of workers who arrive via skilled migration in the tech sector are women. “But if you look at our training system, 90% of people that come directly from information and communication technology degrees are men. So migration helps improve gender balance,” she said. Australia reopened its international borders last month but economists say it will be some time before migration returns to pre-pandemic levels, compounding a labour crunch as job vacancies soar.