Skilled Migrants

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (14:50): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question with regard to the employment of migrants.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN: The 2010-14 Strategic Plan for the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology has a goal to promote high levels of participation and achievement in learning and work. A key performance measure, to be completed by 2014, is to increase the proportion of migrants who gain employment in their occupation or related skill area after being assisted by skills recognition services from 10 per cent in 2008-09 to above 50 per cent. What measures have been taken? Has the key performance measure been met and, if so, by how much?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, we seek to advance training and employment initiatives right across our diverse society. We recognise that South Australia has relied very heavily on migrant settlement in this state and there are a number of things that we have done to assist those to develop skills and access employment opportunities.

Skills SA provides a specialist migrant service to assist skilled migrants and locally skilled tradespeople to gain recognition of their qualifications and also skills to gain skilled employment. We know that that can be, sometimes, a very complex thing to do. People come from different parts of the world, from different educational organisations and institutions and arrive with a wide range of different qualifications, so it can be quite difficult to sit down and compare their previous studies and qualifications with the requirements that are required here. So, there is a lot of very good work done in that area.

Specialist migrant services also work closely with Immigration SA and through networks such as industry, government training, professional associations and community agencies to help support skilled migrants. South Australian employers are connected with skilled workers to help support regional employers to meet their skill needs. We have specialist migrant services located at the Skills for All information centre at Currie Street, and they assist with things like newly arrived skilled migrants to obtain their overseas skills and qualifications recognition, and migrants to access Skills for All funded training to improve their English language communication skills or gain an Australian qualification.

I have already spoken in this place about the federal Liberal government's cuts to our WELL training course (a literacy course). Other assistance provided to skilled migrants to gain employment in their occupation includes locally skilled tradespeople who can demonstrate that they have acquired skills but have never obtained a formal qualification to gain recognition of those skills, which is very important. International students who have completed their Australian qualifications are assisted to gain employment and permanent residence.

There is assistance in relation to asylum seekers needing support with pathways to recognition training and also employment opportunities. Skilled migrants are also supported in their local area through Skills for Jobs in Regions. There are career services with things like skills recognition, career service and job search.