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ADDRESS TO THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP LUNCHEON
Posted November 11, 2010
Good afternoon.
Thank you for the invitation to come here today. AIG has played a valuable role in the national discussion of Australia’s skills needs and I’m pleased to be able to join you to further that discussion today.
Next week I will have been Immigration Minister for two months. One of the things that has struck me in my time as Immigration Minister has been the extent to which the Immigration portfolio, perhaps uniquely, has extensive involvement in all three of the Federal Government’s key policy areas: national security, social policy and economics. It is the interaction of the Immigration portfolio with economics I want to talk to you about today.
A well calibrated migration program contributes to all three Ps: productivity, participation and population. If our policy settings are right, Australia’s migrants don’t simply add to the labour force – they increase workplace participation rates and boost productivity. This is especially important as Australia has one of the strongest labour markets in the world emerging from the global financial crisis. It is also important in the face of an ageing population. In this context, it is essential that Australia’s skilled migration program – both temporary and permanent – is responsive to current economic conditions.
Improving Australia’s skills development has been a key priority for our Government. The Productivity Places program, Trades Training Centres, the development of Skills Australia, the digital education revolution and our emphasis on early childhood learning all, in their own way, underline our commitment to the development of our skills base.
The Gillard Government has also made record investments in apprentices and training, including:
- $200 million in a critical skills investment fund to deliver skills in critical need; and
- $490 million to improve the basic language, literacy and numeracy skills of working age Australians so that they can go on to access the training they need.
The Apprentice Kickstart Package has reversed the decline in traditional trade commencements previously experienced following an economic downturn. More than 283,000 workers in occupations including nursing, engineering, IT, building and construction will now, or in the near future, have the skills needed to support the recovery and drive productivity into the future.
Labor is also developing a national quality vocational education and training system through the Quality Skills Incentive program and the establishment of a National VET Regulator.
Of course, our skilled migration program has and will continue to be a vital contributor to our economic development. Our skilled migration program must meet our labour market needs and provide employers with flexibility, without creating a disincentive for employers to participate in programs to boost the skills of young Australians in particular.
This Government takes the view that there must be a holistic approach to improving Australia’s skills, boosting our productivity and improving our international competitiveness. This approach must encompass better training, greater workforce participation by those marginalised in our society, and a robust and flexible skilled migration program which caters for the needs of our labour market and provides for the highly skilled and those with enormous potential to come to our shores and add to our economic growth.
Changes to the General Skilled Migration points test
Earlier this year, my predecessor, Senator Chris Evans, announced a suite of measures to ensure our skilled migration program is driven by the needs of our economy, rather than by the desire of prospective migrants to come to our country.
Today, I announce the next phase of the reforms – substantial changes to our General Skilled Migration points test. Extensive consultation and thought has gone into these changes. Earlier this year, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship issued a discussion paper. 224 submissions were received. Extensive economic modelling was then undertaken to test the effects of various possibilities and permutations.
The case for reform of our points test is strong. We need a points test which delivers workers who can fill important gaps in Australia’s workforce. But we also need a points test which caters for those who show enormous potential to contribute to Australia’s society and economy – who show they are able to be or become complex problem solvers.
Twenty years ago, Robert Reich in Work of Nations argued that successful employers would be those who fostered ‘symbolic analysts’ – value adding problem solvers. The current test has not always led to outcomes that provide such ‘symbolic analysts’ in our nation’s best interest.
The changes I’m announcing today are necessary, as in recent years we have seen the GSM program skewed to just a handful of occupations. For example, under the existing points test, a Harvard qualified environmental engineer with a PhD and three years’ relevant work experience would fail the points test, while an overseas student who completes a 92 week course in a 60 point occupation with one year’s experience would pass. This is not a system which encourages and fosters symbolic analysts with great potential to come and contribute to our economy.
The reforms I’m announcing today mean that the General Skilled Migration Program will deliver a supply of migrants whose skills will be in demand in the medium and long term, and who possess high levels of human capital to enable them to compete in the labour market through all stages of the economic cycle.
Targeting those with the best prospects
The new test is based on the following attributes:
- Selection of skilled migrants who offer the most human capital and who will thus make the optimal contribution to Australia’s demographic and economic future;
- Selection of applicants with a combination of high value attributes across a number of key characteristics to qualify – including English language ability, academic qualifications and work experience;
- Precluding any single factor from dominating, which can distort the behaviour of applicants and lead to perverse results.
The new points test complements the reforms to the skilled occupation list that took effect in July. This new list better targets Australia’s skills requirements. It has also enabled us to engineer the substantial changes to the points test I’m announcing today.
Under the existing points test, points are awarded on the basis of an applicant’s occupation. Applicants are able to attain 50 per cent of the pass mark on occupation alone – leading to some of the perverse outcomes I mentioned before.
Accordingly, I announce today that points will no longer be awarded on the basis of occupation. Applicants will still be required to nominate a skilled occupation and provide a satisfactory skills assessment from the relevant Australian assessment authority for that occupation. The equal weighting of occupations will have the added benefit of not distorting the study choices of international students.
The new test will also give greater weight to higher level qualifications as part of its focus on human capital. Under the current test, points are not awarded for overseas qualifications – regardless of the quality or level of the qualification. Under the new test, approved and recognised overseas qualifications will be treated as equivalent to Australian qualifications. In recognition of the additional benefit that study in Australia brings, applicants who have studied in Australia will receive five points towards the new pass mark of 65 points. People who have studied in regional areas will receive an additional five points.
I’m a strong supporter of the efforts of Australian universities and institutions to attract foreign students. It is not only good for the budget bottom line of the higher education sector, it is an important part of Australia’s international engagement. For example, educating the future leaders of our regional partners can make an important contribution to our diplomatic efforts long into the future. The Minister for Higher Education, Senator Evans, and I will be having more to say about the interaction of our higher education and immigration policies in the not too distant future. The measures I’m announcing today strike the appropriate balance between recognising valuable overseas qualifications and encouraging study at Australian institutions.
Another change in the points test that I am announcing today goes to the treatment of the age of applicants. The philosophy in the current points system of placing a premium on youth was developed many years ago and is still valid today. Younger migrants can help offset Australia’s ageing population and boost participation rates.
But we also need to recognise the contribution made by people of different ages, and take into account how age interacts with qualifications and work experience factors. As Universities Australia points out in its submission to the Review, doctorates can take four to six years of study and push such highly skilled researchers and professionals into regressive age point ranges, especially if post-qualification work experience is also sought.
The new points test proposes two important changes regarding age.
Firstly, the maximum points available for age will now accrue to those between 25 and 32 years, compared with 18 to 29 years in the current test. This age range is most likely to maximise lifetime earnings, and recognises that it is often difficult to assess the full potential of someone who has had little time to prove themselves in the workforce. It is also consistent with the average age of employer sponsored migrants.
The second, and related, change is that the age threshold will be extended from 45 to 49 years in recognition that slightly older and highly talented specialists still have much to offer.
The new test also places greater value on accumulated experience, recognising that this is another attribute employers themselves are most often seeking. The modern workplace is characterised by increasing demands for high level cognitive and communication skills.
Evidence from the 2006 Australian Literacy and Lifeskills Survey shows that higher assessed literacy levels are valuable to employers, independently of skills acquired through education and work experience. Under the current test, maximum points for English go to those with an International English Language Test score of seven or higher. Under the new test it will go to those with a score of eight or higher.
It is proposed that the new test will take effect from 1 July 2011, subject to the commencement of supporting legislation. In the interim, we will continue to receive and assess applications under the existing points test so that no one intending to apply under the existing regime is disadvantaged.
This new test will have a mixed impact: some prospective migrants will do better under the new test, while others will do worse. Past revisions to the test have resulted in a spike in applications as some people seek to bring forward their application if they feel they may be disadvantaged by the new test. The Government will closely monitor application patterns in the coming weeks and months, and will take corrective action as necessary should a spike occur.
Complementing our employer sponsorship program
Of course, the GSM program complements our employer sponsorship program. The considerable value of independent and employer sponsored migrants is demonstrated by the results of the first report of the Continuous Survey of Australian Migrants, which I released last week.
This survey showed that:
- While employer sponsored migrants enjoyed the best employment outcomes, independent skilled migrants coming from offshore also saw some good results;
- For example, independent skilled migrants coming from offshore had an unemployment rate in line with the national average – despite having arrived in Australia at the peak of the global financial crisis – and with more than nine in ten employed in a skilled job. This group also had relatively high median annual full-time earnings, of $70,500;
- Independent skilled migrants granted their visa onshore – a group comprising mostly former international students – also had high employment rates, but roughly one third were not employed in a skilled job, and their earnings were far lower with a median of $45,000.
These results support the suite of recent changes to make the skilled migration program more responsive to employers’ needs.
The changes include the implementation of State Migration Plans. While state and territory governments have always had the capacity to nominate applicants under the General Skilled Migration program, these plans will better target specific skills shortages in each state and territory. I am pleased to announce that I have entered into an agreement with the governments of Victoria and the ACT and approved the plans for Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Agreements with other states will be finalised by the end of the year.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, when I first became a Minister in 2007 it was impossible to have a discussion with members of Australia’s business community without being told that Australia’s skills shortage was the most pressing economic challenge for Australian commerce.
Later in 2008, other economic challenges interposed and overwhelmed the skills shortage issue. But I and my fellow economic Ministers have not forgotten how a failure to deal with looming skills shortages left the Australian economy exposed.
The very significant monetary investments in skills formation and the policy investment in a significantly improved skilled migration program are evidence of our concern to ensure we deal with issues of significant skills shortages before they emerge.
Thank you again to AIG for your engagement in the debate on skills and skilled migration. I look forward to working with you and other peak groups as we work to make this reformed General Skilled Migration program a reality.
Together with the reforms the Government has already embarked on, the changes to the GSM points test will ensure that our skilled migration program continues to enrich Australia economically, as well as socially and culturally.
We have a duty to get it right. The new points test strikes the right balance and I welcome its proposed introduction next year.
http://www.chrisbowen.net/media-centre/allNews.do?newsId=3889
[ 本帖最后由 madrista 于 11-11-2010 23:11 编辑 ] |
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发表于 11-11-2010 22:12:16
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