However the picture is not all rosy with record numbers of Australian youth (16.9% up from 13.4% in 2008) disengaged from the labour market, education and training in 2009. Simultaneously Indigenous Australians, as shamefully they always have been, are also likely to be excluded from this extraordinary growth in national prosperity. The picture for women's employment in the lucrative mineral resources sector is nothing to be proud of either, representing only 3% of the operational workforce in the resources sector.
Clearly then a long term effort by governments and business is required to ensure that substantial investments are made now to move these marginalised groups into apprenticeships and other genuine training that will give them entry into employment and so partly realise the Federal Government's much vaunted social inclusion policies. To that end the CFMEU applauds the recent funding increase for the Enterprise Based Productivity Places training programme announced by the Deputy Prime Minister. This goes part of the way, but much more needs to be done to target those shut out of the labour market.
Some though are beating the drum for leaving Australian citizens behind and instead filling the skills gap by importing workers on short term temporary visas. WA Liberal Premier Colin Barnett made such a call recently for the Federal Government to plug skill gaps with temporary guest workers.
This is typical of the short term view of many on the conservative side of politics which in effect states, ‘give up on investing in training locals and take the easy way out by stripping out the best and brightest from our Asia Pacific neighbours.' This is unacceptable and says to our young people, women and indigenous Australians, ‘there is no place for you to share in the extraordinary mineral wealth of this country.'
We need the Federal Government to stand up to such calls and legislate preference for locals in our labour market through labour market testing and requiring employers to demonstrate a strong long term verifiable commitment to traineeships and apprenticeships, with a particular focus on under-employed groups, before any application can be made to import temporary guest workers.
The head of the Minerals Council of Australia Mitch Hooke neatly summarised the current attitude of the employers when he said in The Australian on Friday the 9th April that presently for its skills needs "The industry predominantly uses the temporary 457 skilled visa program". A straightforward confession that defines the problem.
Coming out of the GFC is a critical time for Australia's social cohesion, let's get it right and ensure that all Australians have a ‘fair go' in our growing economy.
9 April 2010
