To Have or Not to Have Overseas Recruitment

Priority must be given to locals first before opting for overseas workers

In recent weeks, one of the major subjects of debate has been around the number of 457 visas issued to migrant workers. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has made it clear that she is against having overseas workers filling in for Australians having recently said, “We will not allow Australian workers to be denied the opportunity to fill Australian jobs”.

While it might sound odd coming from a public figure, she’s right – priority must be given to locals first before opting for overseas workers. But it’s not as simple as it sounds because due to skills shortages amongst Australians say, in the ever-booming industry of Information Technology, organizations have no choice but rely on migrant workers.

PM Gillard would prefer to see young Australians trained in the realm of IT. She added, “It is just not acceptable that information technology jobs should be such a big area of imported skills. This is work for which we should train young Australians”.

However, there seems to be some disparity between the Prime Minister’s perspective on this subject and the Immigration department because the latter is all set to relax rules for foreign students from next week. All international students will henceforth be allowed to stay and work for up to four years after graduation. In a nutshell, foreign graduates with a bachelor’s degree will be allowed to work for up to two years, Masters Degree graduates can work for three years and Ph.D. graduates for four.

In a study conducted by the Monash University this year, about 200,000 migrants have arrived in Australia over the last two years and secured employment in industries such as IT, manufacturing, retail, construction, and food services.

Overseas employees are happy to work on lower wages, unlike Australians who seek a higher income which is one of the sole reasons why recruiters employ foreigners who have also built a reputation of being more sincere and hard-working.

But, migrants don’t always have it their way.

Antonio, a painter/sandblaster from the Philippines, was made to clean office toilets and muck out cow sheds on a farm. And, how often do you spot Indians working as cleaners? Mind you, these are highly qualified people who are left with no choice but opt for cleaning out of sheer desperation just to make ends meet. How many Australians do you spot working as a cleaner?

It’s hard to avoid recruitment from overseas in its entirety because we live in a competitive world where every person, every organization is trying to outdo each other in their quest for profit, success, and fame. Therefore, if the shoe fits, flaunt it.