Manpower Shortage In Australia Leading To Hire Plans For Indians

06 May 2011

Upto 30,000 Australia trained Indian graduates could be recruited to help deal with a skills shortage in Australia. As per the plans, as many as 100,000 Indians would be trained, with up to 30,000 Australia-trained graduates to be recruited locally, according to business daily 'Australian Financial Review'. As per the paper, the initiation was prompted by India after a realisation that it needs about one million skilled workers to develop its own mining industries.

The paper also says that officials of the two sides have initiated discussions with tertiary institutions and training bodies in both nations about opening up this country's training system. 

Australia's senior trade official in India, Peter Linford, told the daily that the skills training programme offered huge opportunities for education and industry. Linford said Austrade was working with the mining sector and India's skills development group on the scheme which could become a model for other industries in other countries. 

Indian trainees would be trained to Australian standards and employed on the same conditions as Australians. They would be subject to existing immigration rules. A skills Australia report earlier this week said Australia would need 2.4 million extra skilled workers in the next four years to meet the demands of the mining boom.