Another day, another scandal involving the importation of foreign workers to do jobs that Australians could do.
This time the NSW Baird State Government is the culprit, hiring IT workers on 457 visas at the same time as it offshores public sector jobs. From The SMH:
In response to questions from Greens MP David Shoebridge, the government has confirmed it has used people on 457 visas to fill 32 full-time jobs following its decision to outsource ServiceFirst which looks after IT, human resources and payroll services. Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet said that 32 workers “will continue in the role”.
Mr Shoebridge said the government is “failing to deliver on local jobs”…
“Australia has real depth in IT skills so it is quite extraordinary for the NSW government to bring in 32 workers under 457 visas,” Mr Shoebridge said.
“These are the very jobs we want our young IT graduates and IT professionals to be filling so that we build on our local skill base and deliver a strong economic future for the state”…
The government has said it expects to save $13.4 million over the first six years of its privatisation of ServiceFirst.
Of the 254 people who worked for ServiceFirst, only 22 were transferred to jobs with the new Infosys/Unisys service. There are 144 staff members employed offshore.
It is worth noting that the Department of Employment’s Labour market research for IT professions in Australia found that shortages are almost non existent:
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A key feature of the IT labour market is the large number of candidates competing for available vacancies. There were, on average, around 29 applicants per surveyed vacancy and most employers were able to choose between multiple suitable applicants (an average of 3.1 per surveyed vacancy).
Notably, a number of employers recruiting for graduate or junior level vacancies had applicants who they considered to be overqualified for the advertised position.
Survey results and feedback from industry contacts indicate that employers are highly specific in their requirements. As a result, vacancies often remain unfilled despite attracting applicants who possess most of the relevant skills.
… it appears that IT university graduates are facing increasing difficulty securing employment in the IT sector. This has occurred despite university completions having been well below historical levels for a number of years, and the strong overall employment growth recorded in the sector in the past few years…
A number of trends have affected the IT labour market over recent years, including growth in the offshoring of IT functions. Industry contacts suggest that the offshored functions tend to be lower level, and more routine, which have, in particular, reduced the volume of entry level opportunities for graduates and juniors. In addition, there has been increasing reliance on the use of 457 visa holders by businesses…
The deep corruption within the visa system and the sell-out of Australian workers continues!
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
