Immigration officers hit the road to explain new SkillSelect program

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Created on Friday, 23 March 2012 17:58

Written by Editorial staff

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has expressed its commitment to providing people located outside of major city centres with access to information on workplace staffing shortage options, visa advice and sponsorship avenues.

Officers from the DIAC have set out to visit business owners and migrants residing in South Australia in order to provide them with detailed information on a number of changes to popular sponsorship programs.

The township of Clare will be the focus of the visit, with DIAC officials hosting a number of presentations and meetings on March 29.

Organised by the local Regional Development Australia office, the officers will be hosting a presentation on sponsorship options - as well as making themselves available for private appointments with business leaders and individuals.

Located about 130 kilometres north of Adelaide in the middle of the mid-north wine-country, the community of Clare is an appropriate destination for a dedicated explanation of how the new SkillSelect program will operate.

As a major fruit-growing region, the township is also ideally located for workers involved in rural farming practices such as raising livestock, broad-acre staple productions and, of course, winemaking.

With a seasonal workflow comes the demand for extra labour during peak production times - making migrant workers a valuable resource.

Speaking on the need to engage with the wider community across Australia, a spokesman for the DIAC explained how the new programs would affect local businesses.

The spokesman asserted: "These reforms will improve the programs' ability to meet Australia's economic needs and to respond quickly to labour market demand.

"The department's South Australian regional outreach officers will be in Clare to explain these changes."

Of the developments to be covered in the presentation, perhaps the most pertinent for registered migration agents will be how the new SkillSelect program will affect their operations.

As has been mentioned before, the new initiative will serve to roll together a number of different sponsorship avenues in an attempt to streamline the application process.

Foreign professionals will be able to register their interest in migrating to Australia, recording their details and experience levels with the DIAC in order to gain an invitation should a match be made.

However, there remains a number of questions surrounding just how this system will impact on the number of sponsorship applications and how migration agents can shape their offerings to suit these new market conditions.