Australian officials have travelled to the United Kingdom in a bid to attract more skilled British citizens to their country.
The reason for this mission is clear- Western Australia is at present in dire need of skilled workers as its resource sector is on the rise, and the authorities see Britain’s many want-away citizens as the solution.
Led by Western Australia's training and workforce development minister, Peter Collier, the group will spend 10 days travelling around various parts of the UK, including Leeds, London and Aberdeen, where they will attempt to create awareness regarding the employment opportunities that lie in Australia.
Mr Collier said: “Western Australia is facing a potential shortfall of up to 150,000 additional skilled workers by 2017, demand that is driven by strong growth in the state’s resources industry. Our goal is to explore all options for not just increasing the participation of our local population, but also adding to the labour pool by attracting skilled workers from overseas and other parts of Australia. We aim to show skilled migrants, short-term workers, working holidaymakers and their families the opportunities in Western Australia.”
Western Australia is currently experiencing heavy growth, particularly in the resources sector, and there are fears that this growth is so strong there may not be enough workers to take advantage of it.